Early life
- spent four years in Spain, 1970-1974
- moved to USA in 1974
- went to high school in Los Angeles, California
- BA from California State University, Long Beach
- MFA, Louisiana State University (1987), under Vance Bourjaily
- studied under Sir Angus Wilson and Robert Houston for a year at the University of Arizona
Literary work
Suárez has stated that he no longer writes novels and finds writing poetry better for him. He also states that
Spared Angola is the work in which he found his voice. He continues to explore the experience of exile, of living as a gypsy.
Suárez's first novel,
Latin Jazz was described by
Newsday as "a striking debut. A well crafted and sensitive novel. An engrossing, honest book by a writer who cares deeply about preserving ties within the family unit and, by extension, within the Hispanic community and America. Suarez is marvelous." His novel
The Cutter was described by Publishers Weekly as a "powerful novel about one individual's response to the abuses and arbitrariness of totalitarianism [that] shows us how ordinary people can be driven to take extraordinary risks." His collection of stories,
Welcome to the Oasis, was described by Kirkus Reviews as "A tightly controlled but affecting exploration of fundamental tensions" in the Cuban exile/Marielita community. New York Public Library named the collection as one of the top books for the Teen Age.
Other praise has come from The New York Times: "Mr. Suarez writes in a cold, unornamental, Hemingwayesque style, always straight forward and cinematic" and The Village Voice "Like Oscar Hijuelos, Suarez has taken pains with his craft, orchestrating points of view and narrative time. His forte is directness of description and action."
Marriage and children
Suárez is married with children.