ABOUT THE TASTE OF SUGAR:
Marisel Vera emerges as a major voice of contemporary fiction with a heart-wrenching novel set in Puerto Rico on the eve of the Spanish-American War.
It is 1898, and groups of starving Puerto Ricans, los hambrientos, roam the parched countryside and dusty towns begging for food. Under the yoke of Spanish oppression, the Caribbean island is forced to prepare to wage war with the United States. Up in the mountainous coffee region of Utuado, Vicente Vega and Valentina Sanchez labor to keep their small farm from the creditors. When the Spanish-American War and the great San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899 bring devastating upheaval, the young couple is lured, along with thousands of other puertorriquenos, to the sugar plantations of Hawaii―another US territory―where they are confronted by the hollowness of America’s promises of prosperity. Writing in the tradition of great Latin American storytelling, Marisel Vera’s The Taste of Sugar is an unforgettable novel of love and endurance, and a timeless portrait of the reasons we leave home.
Now available in paperback. Purchase your copy here.
PRAISE AND RECOGNITION FOR THE TASTE OF SUGAR:
“A masterful work of historical fiction. . . . [A] Latino Grapes of Wrath.”―Ron Charles, Washington Post
“This capacious novel tells the story of a Puerto Rican family, against the backdrop of the Spanish-American War, in 1898.” – The New Yorker
“This illuminating work of historical fiction sheds light on a forgotten chapter of the American story through characters who burrow into your bones and whisper in your ear.” – O, The Oprah Magazine
“12 best Latino books of 2020: Books to read by Hispanic authors” – NBC News
“The Vega and Sánchez families are made up of vivid, fully realized characters, and Vera has a knack for writing dialogue that is full of personality. Her descriptions of Puerto Rico’s natural beauty are impressive . . . [T]he reader will emerge with a deep sense of Puerto Rican history and suffering that has been lost to most Americans . . . Vera’s breakout novel is a sweeping, emotional tale that puts her characters, and her readers, through an emotional wringer.” –KIRKUS
Tapping into her Puerto Rican heritage and conducting plenty of research, [Vera] presents a heartfelt depiction of once-proud coffee plantation hacendados (owners) in very difficult times. . . . Progressing chronologically, the omniscient narrator seamlessly folds in Spanish words and phrases as well as epistolary interludes . . . Vera’s novel is historical fiction at its best, featuring engaging survivors from a forgotten past.–Sara Martinez
Vera’s saga is impeccably timed to provide insights into the troubling history of Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States, and showing that the colonization of puertorriqueños extended to the Pacific fills a gap in history for many. Recommended for anyone who enjoys epic stories of hardship and loss as well as the perseverance, love, and strength drawn from one’s family and culture.–Faye Chadwell
A sprawling family epic that stretches from the mountains of Puerto Rico to Hawaii and across decades of love, famine, and war. . . . Vera tells a grand story using innovative techniques. . . . The Vega and Sánchez families are made up of vivid, fully realized characters, and Vera has a knack for writing dialogue that is full of personality. Her descriptions of Puerto Rico’s natural beauty are impressive . . . [T]he reader will emerge with a deep sense of Puerto Rican history and suffering that has been lost to most Americans . . . Vera’s breakout novel is a sweeping, emotional tale that puts her characters, and her readers, through an emotional wringer.
A majestic work with the grand sweep of history and the intimacy of a compelling dream. Marisel Vera has written a compassionate, unforgettable, richly detailed novel about colonialism in all its guises, offering us little-known stories from the past that are essential to understanding the present.–Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban
Vera eloquently tells the story of an astonishing Puerto Rican family and their countrymen and women, as their people are constantly betrayed, discarded and ruined, first by the Spanish, next by the Americans, yet they never give up hope. Haunting, mesmerizing, and heart-scorching, you will turn pages while holding your breath. You don’t just read this genius alive novel, you live it.–Caroline Leavitt, author of Cruel Beautiful World
AUTHOR VISITS:
Author visits with Marisel Vera are available via NovelNetwork.com.