Taína

by Ernesto Quiñonez Narrated by Daniel José Molina

Overview

A uniquely dark, coming-of-age novel rife with urban magical realism, love, and redemption, from the author of Bodega Dreams

When Julio, a teenager living in Spanish Harlem, hears that Taina, a pregnant fifteen-year-old from his high school claims to be a virgin, he decides to believe her. Julio has a history of strange visions and his blind and unrequited love for Taina will unleash a whirlpool of emotions that will bring him to question his hard-working Puerto Rican mother and his communist Ecuadorian father, his beliefs and even the building blocks of modern science (after seeing the conception of Taina's baby as a revolution in nature).*

After meeting Taína's uncle, "El Vejigante", an ex-con with a dark past, he accepts his proposal to support her during her pregnancy and becomes entangled in a web of crime that, while taking him closer to Taína, ultimately reveals a family secret that will not leave him unscathed.

Editorial Reviews

NOVEMBER 2019 - AudioFile

Narrator Daniel José Molina’s affectionate interpretation of Quiñonez’s novel rings with truth. Quiñonez should be on everyone’s list of authors to know. In his riveting portrait of contemporary life in the projects of Spanish Harlem, he creates distinctive, indelible characters. Fifteen-year-old Taina Flores is pregnant. She claims she’s a virgin. Her mother believes her. She’s sure Taina was visited by angels. Molina sounds exactly like the storyteller, a 17-year-old neighbor named Julio, a boy with visions and a deep love for Taina. Molina’s portrayals of Taina’s uncle, El Vejigante, an eccentric ex-con; Julio’s parents, a Marxist father and a Jehova’s Witness mother; and Taina herself, a foul-mouthed teen with an angelic voice, are completely satisfying. Graceful writing and a superb performance make this choice listening. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

"Latin American magical realism leaps over any borders and ends up in the barrio of Spanish Harlem. A love story, coming-of-age story, a mystery, a whodunit story, and ultimately a story of true love in the broadest sense." —Julia Álvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies
 
“Taína is a searing search for the meaning in what we choose to believe and the stories we tell ourselves. . . . This novel's belief and trust in love is something we desperately need to hear.” —Helena Viramontes, author of Under the Feet of Jesus

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171851910
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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