Las madres : a novel
(Book)

"This is a Borzoi book published by Alfred A. Knopf"--Title page verso.

"A powerful novel of family, race, faith, and culture that moves between Puerto Rico and the Bronx, revealing the lives and loves of five women and the secret that binds them. They refer to themselves as “las madres,” a close-knit group of women who, with their daughters (las nenas), have created a family based as much on friendship as on blood ties.Their story begins in Puerto Rico in 1975 when fifteen-year-old Luz, the tallest girl in her dance academy and the only Black one in a sea of petite, light-skinned, delicate swans, is seriously injured in a car accident. Now orphaned, Luz navigates the pressures of adolescence and copes with the aftershock of a brain injury. Her memory of the crash is wiped clean, but she suffers spells that send her mind to times and places she can’t control or explain. In 2017, in the Bronx, Luz’s adult daughter, Marysol, wishes she better understood her mother. But how can she when Luz barely remembers her own life? To help, their friend Graciela, suggests a vacation in Puerto Rico for las madras and las nenas as an opportunity for Luz to unearth long-buried memories. Despite their careful planning, two back-to-back hurricanes disrupt their homecoming, a community is rocked by disaster, and a secret is revealed that blows their lives wide open. In a voice that sings with warmth, humor, friendship, and pride, celebrated author Esmeralda Santiago unspools a story of women’s sexuality, shame, disability, love, and the power of family ties."--Book jacket.