From the beloved author of Dominicana, a GMA Book Club Pick and Women’s Prize Finalist, this is the Spanish language edition of an electrifying and indelible novel about a woman who has lost everything but the chance to finally tell her story.
“Will have you laughing line after line...Cruz aims for the heart, and fires.” —Los Angeles Times
"An endearing portrait of a fierce, funny woman." —The Washington Post
Cara Romero creía que trabajaría en una fábrica de lámparas pequeñas por el resto de su vida. Pero cuando, a los cincuenta años, pierde su trabajo en la Gran Recesión, se ve obligada a volver al mercado laboral por la primera vez en décadas. Con el apoyo de un consejero laboral, en vez, Cara comienza a narrar la historia de su vida. En el transcurso de doce sesiones, Cara recuenta sus amoríos tempestuosos, sus relaciones por turnos hirientes y amorosas con su vecina Lulu y su hermana Ángela, sus luchas contra las deudas, la gentrificación y las perdidas, y, eventualmente, lo que realmente sucedió entre ella y su hijo distanciado, Fernando. A medida que Cara enfrenta sus secretos más oscuros y sus arrepentimientos, vemos a una mujer golpeada por la vida, pero que sigue siendo una luchadora. Estructuralmente creativa y emocionalmente caleidoscópica, Cómo no ahogarse en un vaso de agua es la novela más ambiciosa y conmovedora de Angie Cruz hasta el momento, y Cara es una heroína para la posteridad.
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.
ANGIE CRUZ is the author of the novels Dominicana, Soledad, and Let It Rain Coffee, a finalist in 2007 for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. She has published short fiction and essays in magazines and journals, including The New York Times, VQR, and Gulf Coast Literary Journal. She has received numerous grants and residencies including the New York Foundation of the Arts Fellowship, Yaddo, and The Macdowell Colony. She is founder and Editor-in-Chief of Aster(ix), a literary and arts journal. Cruz is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh. Dominicana was inspired by her mother's story.
