Cristina Henríquez

Wonderful story filled with many interesting and believable characters with the backdrop of the digging of the Panama Canal.

The novel is told by many characters who intersect often in rather minor ways. Ada is a young woman who hides in a ship from Barbados who is looking for work to help her sister at home get an operation. Omar, is the son of a fisherman who is very opposed to the Canal. Omar, not wanting to be a fisherman, goes off to join the digging drew much to the displeasure of his father and don't speak to each other for months. Their is an American man working on the canal whose wife is dying; Ada becomes a maid in the house. There are other characters who fill out the scene: the doctor caring for the ill wife, the other diggers who form a sort of friendship with Omar, the cruel overseer of the diggers, the jealous cook in the American's home.

The book is not so much plot driven but driven by the experiences of these individuals all caused and connected somehow by the digging of the canal. Very good read.… (plus d'informations)

Super quick to read! I settled on 3 stars but it's probably more of a 3.5

This was a really nice story about the Latino immigrant community in Delaware with special focus one one family who has a child with traumatic brain injury.

This is the second book I've read recently about the immigrant experience and it is truly eye opening to see the struggles the face and the back stories that go with these people who so often are just nameless background pieces in our everyday lives.

… (plus d'informations)