Women |
Hispanic & Latino |
Fiction |
Summary
Summary
Lushly evocative of Nicaragua, its tumultuous history, and vibrant present, Eleni N. Gage's The Ladies of Managua brings you into the lives of three strong and magnetic women, as they uncover the ramifications of the choices they made in their pasts and begin to understand the ways in which love can shape their futures.
When Maria Vazquez returns to Nicaragua for her beloved grandfather's funeral, she brings with her a mysterious package from her grandmother's past--and a secret of her own. And she also carries the burden of her tense relationship with her mother Ninexin, once a storied revolutionary, now a tireless government employee.
Between Maria and Ninexin lies a chasm created by the death of Maria's father, who was killed during the revolution when Maria was an infant, leaving her to be raised by her grandmother Isabela as Ninexin worked to build the new Nicaragua. As Ninexin tries to reach her daughter, and Maria wrestles with her expectations for her romance with an older man, Isabela, the mourning widow, is lost in memories of attending boarding school in 1950's New Orleans, where she loved and lost almost sixty years ago.
When the three women come together to bid farewell to the man who anchored their family, they are forced to confront their complicated, passionate relationships with each other and with their country--and to reveal the secrets that each of them have worked to conceal.
Reviews (1)
Booklist Review
The author of Other Waters (2012) takes readers to Nicaragua in her new novel, as three generations of women come together to say goodbye to their family's patriarch. Saddened by the loss of her beloved grandfather, Ignacio, 33-year-old Maria travels from New York to Managua after a fight with her boyfriend, Allen, a painter a decade older than she, who she fears can't really see her. Maria's mother, Ninexin, a revolutionary who chose to dedicate herself to the cause rather than to raising her child, still longs to connect with her daughter. And Isabela's world is turned upside down when her granddaughter, Maria, delivers a missive that opens a door Isabela had long assumed had closed forever. As Isabela is absorbed by memories of a lost love in New Orleans a lifetime ago, Maria must decide if she and Allen have a future after he unexpectedly turns up at Ignacio's funeral, and Ninexin grapples with guilt over the fateful night that robbed Maria of her father. Readers will find themselves completely absorbed in this rich, multigenerational tale of love lost and reclaimed.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2010 Booklist