Las Madres

A Novel

By: Esmeralda Santiago

Narrated by: Esmeralda Santiago

Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

From the award-winning, best-selling author of When I Was Puerto Rican, a powerful novel of family, race, faith, sex, and disaster that moves between Puerto Rico and the Bronx, revealing the lives and loves of five women and the secret that binds them together

They refer to themselves as “las Madres,” a close-knit group of women who, with their daughters, have created a family based on friendship and blood ties. Their story begins in Puerto Rico in 1975 when fifteen-year-old Luz, the tallest girl in her dance academy and the only Black one in a sea of petite, light-skinned, delicate swans, is seriously injured in a car accident. Tragically, her brilliant, multilingual scientist parents are both killed in the crash. Now orphaned, Luz navigates the pressures of adolescence and copes with the aftershock of a brain injury, when two new friends enter her life, Ada and Shirley. Luz’s days are consumed with aches and pains, and her memory of the accident is wiped clean, but she suffers spells that send her mind to times and places she can’t share with others.

In 2017, in the Bronx, Luz’s adult daughter, Marysol, wishes she better understood her. But how can she when her mother barely remembers her own life? To help, Ada and Shirley’s daughter, Graciela, suggests a vacation in Puerto Rico for the extended group, as an opportunity for Luz to unearth long-buried memories and for Marysol to learn more about her mother’s early life. But despite all their careful planning, two hurricanes, back-to-back, disrupt their homecoming, and a secret is revealed that blows their lives wide open. In a voice that sings with warmth, humor, friendship, and pride, celebrated author Esmeralda Santiago unspools a story of women’s sexuality, shame, disability, and love within a community rocked by disaster.

©2023 Esmeralda Santiago (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A close-knit group of female friends finds their bonds tested and their lives upheaved by the passage of time before coming together again in Puerto Rico in this elegantly woven novel from the author of When I Was Puerto Rican." —Emma Specter, Vogue

"A sweeping and supple story centering three Puerto Rican women and their daughters living in the Bronx. As one of their daughters becomes curious about her background, her mother's childhood car accident—which took the lives of both of her mother's parents—comes sharply into view. Yet her mother can't remember the tragic event. To uncover the mystery, the women plan a vacation to Puerto Rico, a place wracked by hurricanes and secrets long buried." —Ms. Magazine

“Santiago offers a vibrant portrayal of women supporting one another through disability and hardship.” —Becky Meloan, The Washington Post

Important piece of work

I was so deeply involved in Luz’s plights and hoped for some resolution. However, that is how collective trauma is…no resolution. As an Boricua emergency consultant, all of clients will receive a copy of this book. An emotional read for PRcans. A must read for everyone else.

Talented writer

Such a beautiful and tragic story all in one. I of course wanted more, which shows how good the book was. I also enjoyed learning about Puerto Rico.

Every good work of fiction is built on the foundation of truth.

This gifted writer doesn’t disappoint. The strength of these beautiful women not only helps them to recover from the trauma of a tragic car accident but also address the challenges that the people of Puerto Rico experienced during the devastating hurricane Maria that ravaged the island, bringing the people and the characters of this book closer together.

The resilience of the Puerto Ricans to never give up to become a sovereign & independent state.

I love the way Esmeralda connects the fictional characters to teach the audience about the history of Puerto Rican culture, people, and political oppression and colonialism of the island by the US.

Accurate information

Thru the novel you can clearly visualize the places and the people that Esmeralda describes. I felt that I was there with them.!!!

The writer and narrator ❤️

Love the writing. My father was in Puerto Rico during Maria. Remembered going there to get him. Saw the devastation. This was a beautiful story. Leading to Maria. So easy to get lost in being part of every characters feelings. Thank Esmeralda for once again taken me on another journey of what it is to be Puerto Rican.

Unsatisfying

Started out promisingly, but quickly got bogged down. Pacing incredibly uneven. Took FOREVER for the group to get to Puerto Rico, with every step (even getting luggage from the overhead on the plane) related in excruciating detail, then a rush in the last pages for the big reveal, which was barely addressed, and “resolved” with just another lie. Also many things never tied up. They didn’t see the pastor when they went back?? What happened to the grandmother, Dona tamarindo?? They found out about the secret by total chance, deus ex machina. So frustrating. Also, I could have done without the diarrhea. Ugh.

Blah

The highlight of ‘dark skin’ feeds the colorism that so many feel from Puerto Ricans, and it’s just exhausting.