The Gurrero family is like many immigrant families in the United States. Leaving behind hunger and poverty in their beloved home in the Dominican Republic, they settle in New York City’s Nothar park. Father Vladimir becomes a policeman, while Eusebia, his wife, becomes not only her neighborhoods force to be reckoned with, but also her daughter, Luz’s biggest champion and driving force. Each success Lux achieves is not hers alone, but also Eusebia’s, each lapse in what Eusebia sees on Luz’s course to the top, her own.
When Luz loses her high paying job as a corporate attorney, and Eusebia takes a fall that alters her personality, they join in the fight of gentrification of their neighborhood. Natera creates a colorful, emotionally deep set of characters to populate the neighborhood, and it is in the interactions between the main characters and these secondary ones that the novel shines. Gorgeous writing, and characters you will not want to let go fill this beautiful book, filled with the beauty and sorrow of not only Neruda, but people who’ve left their homeland everywhere. This is a writer I will watch.
The publisher gave me an advanced reader copy of Neruda on the Park. It was published May 25, 2022.
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