by EduardoSantiago (Author)
Graciela, Caridad and Imperio all left their small town in Cuba for the same reason - to escape Castro. The memories they left behind, however, are quite varied. Rather than commit to killing her daughter in protest to the new regime, Caridad hops in a boat bound for the Florida Keys in the middle of the night, leaving her fine home and her husband's medical practice to be looted. Imperio, fearing her husband has been cursed by rebels, scrambles to join her recently departed best friend. And Graciela, seen by her neighbors as a harlot, follows her husband to Miami, where his angry family awaits. Eventually, the women find themselves in Union City, NJ, working the same conveyor belt in a doll factory, ignoring their long-held grudges against each other in order to protect the scandals and secrets they left in Cuba. In the end, the two women who have spent their days searching for a way back to where they came from watch the one who doggedly pursued the American dream ascend over them. Who is worth rooting for? As juicy and surprising as the soap operas the women adore, this portrayal of small town life, gossip-mongering and the immigrant experience is told with passion and humor.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Published: 07 Sep 2006
ISBN 10: 0316014125
ISBN 13: 9780316014120