About this item
Cara Romero thought she would work at the factory of little lamps for the rest of her life. But when, in her mid-50s, she loses her job in the Great Recession, she is forced back into the job market for the first time in decades. Set up with a job counselor, Cara instead begins to narrate the story of her life. Over the course of twelve sessions, Cara recounts her tempestuous love affairs, her alternately biting and loving relationships with her neighbor Lulu and her sister Angela, her struggles with debt, gentrification and loss, and, eventually, what really happened between her and her estranged son, Fernando. As Cara confronts her darkest secrets and regrets, we see a woman buffeted by life but still full of fight.
Structurally inventive and emotionally kaleidoscopic, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water is Angie Cruz’s most ambitious and moving novel yet, and Cara is a heroine for the ages.
About the Author
Angie Cruz is a New York born Dominicana who traveled to and from NYC to D.R. for most of her formative years. Her first novel, Soledad (2001) and second novel, Let It Rain Coffee (2005) were both published by Simon & Schuster. Her novel, Dominicana, published Fall 2019 with Flatiron Books, was inspired by her mother's arrival story. To research this novel Angie scoured many photo albums and this inspired the digital photo archive accessed through instagram: @dominicanasnyc. For the past twenty years Angie has attended numerous writing residencies, including Yaddo, The Macdowell Colony, Art Omi, The Camargo Foundation and Fundacion Valparaiso. Her works earned her many awards and honors including The New York Foundation of the Arts Fellowship, the Pittsburgh Foundation Fellowship, the NALAC Fellowship and in 2007. Her short stories and essays have been featured in numerous journals and anthologies including Small Axe, Gulf Coast Literary Journal, Callaloo, VQR and the New York Times. Angie is currently an Associate Professor at University of Pittsburgh. The co-founder and editor of the award winning literary journal, Aster(ix) . She divides her time between Pittsburgh, New York and Turin.
