Undocumented Peruvian Ana Falcón is compassionately portrayed by narrator Frankie Corzo in Rivero’s touted debut novel. Ana dreams that her family, who have left a crumbling Peru, will flourish in America. Even in Peru, Ana’s indigenous heritage made her a second-class citizen—unlike her urban, educated, and lighter-skinned husband. Whereas he sees returning to Peru as a solution to their precarious life in New York, for her it is an impossible surrender. Her desperation results in decisions that seem dangerously shortsighted. While Corzo’s habit of swallowing her “t”s is more indicative of an American than a South American accent, her narration in all other respects clearly projects the voice of Ana and her fellow immigrants, whose dreams seem only to recede the more they reach for them. K.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
The Affairs of the Falcóns: A Novel
Narrated by Frankie Corzo
Melissa RiveroUnabridged — 8 hours, 34 minutes
The Affairs of the Falcóns: A Novel
Narrated by Frankie Corzo
Melissa RiveroUnabridged — 8 hours, 34 minutes
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Overview
A stunning debut novel about a young undocumented Peruvian woman fighting to keep her family afloat in New York City.
Ana Falcón, along with her husband Lucho and their two young children, has fled the economic and political strife of Peru for a chance at a new life in New York City in the 1990s. Being undocumented, however, has significantly curtailed the family's opportunities: Ana is indebted to a loan shark who calls herself Mama, and is stretched thin by unceasing shifts at her factory job. To make matters worse, Ana must also battle both criticism from Lucho's cousin-who has made it obvious the family is not welcome to stay in her spare room for much longer-and escalating and unwanted attention from Mama's husband.
As the pressure builds, Ana becomes increasingly desperate. While Lucho dreams of returning to Peru, Ana is deeply haunted by the demons she left behind and determined to persevere in this new country. But how many sacrifices is she willing to make before admitting defeat and returning to Peru? And what lines is she willing to cross in order to protect her family?
The Affairs of the Falcóns is a beautiful, deeply urgent novel about the lengths one woman is willing to go to build a new life, and a vivid rendering of the American immigrant experience.
Editorial Reviews
Beautiful.... The theme is immigration, but at heart, this is a story about family—the long-standing tensions, the profound bonds, the depth of spousal, parental and filial love. It’s at once a timeless work and a book we urgently need now.
The Affairs of the Falcóns is a powerfully honest testament to the strength of immigrant mothers. May we all see them, honor them, and fight for them in the way Melissa Rivero sees, honors, and fights for Ana Rios, free of judgement and full of love.”
An unsparing look at the world of the undocumented through the life of Peruvian immigrant Ana Falcón and her family.... Melissa Rivero’s The Affairs of the Falcóns does poetic justice to this riveting tale of identity, belonging, and transformation.”
Melissa Rivero is a gifted writer with a clear view of the human heart. This novel shows us new things. It’s a winner.
Melissa Rivero writes about love with all of its beauty, fierceness, and complications: of motherhood and hard choices, the bonds of family and homeland, and the sacrifices made for survival and a better future. Ana Rios is an unforgettable character and a necessary American hero.
Timely and beautifully rendered.... Rivero succeeds in drawing to light the challenges many new immigrants face.... A complex and compelling portrait of Latin American immigrants and the experience of undocumented families.
At a time when the United States is wracked with debates about what constitutes a ‘real’ American, this rendering of the immigrant experience couldn’t be more important.”
A beautiful, serious and life-affirming book.”
Undocumented Peruvian Ana Falcón is compassionately portrayed by narrator Frankie Corzo in Rivero’s touted debut novel. Ana dreams that her family, who have left a crumbling Peru, will flourish in America. Even in Peru, Ana’s indigenous heritage made her a second-class citizen—unlike her urban, educated, and lighter-skinned husband. Whereas he sees returning to Peru as a solution to their precarious life in New York, for her it is an impossible surrender. Her desperation results in decisions that seem dangerously shortsighted. While Corzo’s habit of swallowing her “t”s is more indicative of an American than a South American accent, her narration in all other respects clearly projects the voice of Ana and her fellow immigrants, whose dreams seem only to recede the more they reach for them. K.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
2019-01-21
A nuanced look at the human cost of immigration policy.
It's New York in the 1990s. Ana Falcón works as a seamstress. Her husband, Lucho, is driving a cab. Along with their two small children, the Falcóns are living with Lucho's cousin's family. The pressures—personal, financial—that Ana faces will be recognizable to most readers, but the fact that the Falcóns are undocumented immigrants adds a layer of complexity and peril to every choice they make. Ana and Lucho are limited in the kinds of jobs they can find and vulnerable to employers willing to hire workers illegally. Housing is hard to come by, and they know that their welcome with extended family is not indefinite. With no access to banks, they are forced to do business with loan sharks. Rivero offers a portrait of the immigrant experience that will undoubtedly ring true to many, but she also writes with great specificity. She offers insight into the economic and political instability that drove Ana and Lucho to leave Peru, and she depicts the ways in which class and race factor into the lives of the Falcóns. Ana's background is rural and indigenous. Terrorists and soldiers were a threat to her and her mother. Lucho's family is from Lima, and these differences color Ana's relationship with Lucho's cousin Valeria. Ana is a very well-crafted protagonist, sympathetic but not perfect. Her situation is circumscribed, but Rivero gives her considerable agency—including the freedom to make dubious choices. This is, obviously, a book that has a lot to say to our current moment, but it also has an emotional appeal that is timeless and universal.
Thoughtful and eye-opening, this is an admirable debut.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940173394651 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 04/02/2019 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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