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Title details for Dominicana by Angie Cruz - Available

Dominicana

A Novel

by Angie Cruz
Coral Peña
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA COVER TO COVER BOOK CLUB PICK
This program includes a bonus conversation with the author.
Named a Most Anticipated Book by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, O Magazine, Time, Real Simple, Chicago Review of Books, Kirkus Reviews, Nylon, BuzzFeed, Lit Hub, The Millions, Instyle, Bustle, Refinery29, Hello Giggles, AARP, Domino

"Coral Pena's strong delivery is a breath of fresh air...a master of accents and emotion, bringing genuine pathos to the story." — AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner
Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she has to say yes. It doesn't matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate. So on New Year's Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz, a wife confined to a cold six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights. Lonely and miserable, Ana hatches a reckless plan to escape. But at the bus terminal, she is stopped by Cesar, Juan's free-spirited younger brother, who convinces her to stay.
As the Dominican Republic slides into political turmoil, Juan returns to protect his family's assets, leaving Cesar to take care of Ana. Suddenly, Ana is free to take English lessons at a local church, lie on the beach at Coney Island, see a movie at Radio City Music Hall, go dancing with Cesar, and imagine the possibility of a different kind of life in America. When Juan returns, Ana must decide once again between her heart and her duty to her family.
In bright, musical prose that reflects the energy of New York City, Angie Cruz's Dominicana is a vital portrait of the immigrant experience and the timeless coming-of-age story of a young woman finding her voice in the world.
Praise for Dominicana:
"Through a novel with so much depth, beauty, and grace, we, like Ana, are forever changed." —Jacqueline Woodson, Vanity Fair
"Gorgeous writing, gorgeous story." —Sandra Cisneros

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    September 3, 2019

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781250242556
      • File size: 294348 KB
      • Duration: 10:13:13

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from July 8, 2019
      The demands and expectations of family are an overpowering force in this enthralling story about Dominican immigrants in the mid-1960s from Cruz (Let It Rain Coffee). Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion, living in the Dominican countryside, becomes Ana Ruiz when she bends to her mother’s pressure and marries the brutish 32-year-old Juan, who has recently emigrated to America and is scratching out a living in New York. Juan and his brothers intend to build a restaurant on the Cancion family land back in the Dominican Republic, and part of the plan is for the brothers to first raise money by working in New York. When Juan brings Ana to the city, she’s overwhelmed, learning hard lessons about the locals and her husband—who’s abusive until Ana becomes pregnant—and she grows closer to Juan’s younger brother, Cesar. Ana comes of age while the Vietnam War protests surge around her in New York, and when the brewing conflict in the Dominican Republic erupts, Ana becomes determined to earn her own money and bring her mother and siblings to the relative safety of the States. The intimate workings of Ana’s mind are sometimes childlike and sometimes tortured, and her growth and gradually blooming wisdom is described with a raw, expressive voice. Cruz’s winning novel will linger in the reader’s mind long after the close of the story.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Set in the 1960s, this audiobook introduces Ana, a 15-year-old new bride whose mercurial husband brings her to America. Coral Pena's strong delivery is a breath of fresh air--her depiction of Ana blends confidence and na�vet� as the protagonist makes her way from her home in the Dominican Republic to New York, from a simple life to a complicated one. Pena is a master of accents and emotion, bringing genuine pathos to the story. At times, her pace quickens precipitously, but the overall impact of her elegant narrative is appealing. In no time, the listener is Ana's greatest supporter, wishing her well in her struggle to do her family proud. This audience investment is due to Pena's performance as well as Cruz's storytelling. L.B.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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