Neruda on the Park: A Novel

by Cleyvis Natera

Hardcover, 2022

Status

Available

Publication

Ballantine Books (2022), 336 pages

Description

"An exhilarating debut novel about members of a Dominican family in New York City who take radically different paths when faced with encroaching gentrification, for readers of Such a Fun Age and Dominicana. The Guerreros have lived in Nothar Park, a predominantly Dominican part of the city, for over twenty years. When the crash of a wrecking ball signals the demolition of an old neighboring tenement, Eusebia, an elder of the community, quietly devises an increasingly dangerous series of schemes to stop construction of the luxury condos that will take their place. Meanwhile Eusebia's daughter, Luz, a rising associate at a top Manhattan law firm, strives to live the bougie lifestyle her parents worked hard to give her. While her father, Vladimir, secretly designs their retirement home in the Dominican Republic and Eusebia begins masterminding a neighborhood crime ring to save their homes, Luz is wholly distracted with a sweltering romance with the white, handsome developer of the company her mother so vehemently opposes. And when mother and daughter collide, at odds on what it means to save their community, tensions ramp up in Nothar Park, and build toward a near fatal climax. A fierce meditation on race, class, and community, with the propulsive force and poignant take on trenchant modern issues, Neruda on the Park weaves a rich and vivid tapestry of family, community, and Afro-Latinx culture, announcing Cleyvis Natera as an electrifying debut novelist"--… (more)

Rating

(10 ratings; 4)

User reviews

LibraryThing member booklove2
A Dominican novel! Not many of those, as far as my limited knowledge goes. It's a good one - I wouldn't be surprised if this gets more buzz than it is right now... maybe a big book club will pick it at some point . It's simply perfect for a book club. First, its fluid, yet full and rich sentences
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(which is the characteristic that most makes me think of the reason it receives comparisons to 'Such a Fun Age' by Kiley Reid). So many important themes here and it's lovely that it's a Dominican voice this time around. Natera takes such care with these characters. Switching perspectives between a unique but complicated mother/daughter relationship, which is necessary to show their disconnect despite their closeness, but also focusing on the community of Nothar Park in NYC. The Guerrero family has been living in Nothar Park after leaving the Dominican Republic many years ago, but now might have to face moving when a new building is going up. I love that the progress of the building mimics what is happening in the relationship between Luz, the daughter and Eusebia, the mother. Luz feels like an outsider after graduating from law school. Eusebia feels like Nothar Park is her home now, that she is the mother of the neighborhood. So Eusebia plans a neighborhood crime spree in an attempt to shut down construction. I feel there are many layers within these pages, the care here in which it took Natera fifteen years to write it. The book feels lived in. I hope Natera's next book doesn't take as long. I'm glad I found this book and these characters. Natera says in the acknowledgements: "My family and I have survived immeasurable pain, loss, joy, and love as immigrants of the United States." And if all of that can produce projects such as this, at least it's something.
Set this on the shelf beside:
Deacon King Kong - James McBride
The Confession of Copeland Cane - Keenan Norris
Such a Fun Age - Kiley Reid
Luster - Raven Leilani
There There - Tommy Orange
Dear Miss Metropolitan - Carolyn Ferrell
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LibraryThing member froxgirl
This novel of the impact of gentrification, set in the Dominican community of Upper Manhattan, is the family saga of a daughter brought low, and then through, the trauma of her mother's instability. Luz, a purposeful corporate lawyer, is the pride of her close-knit neighborhood and of her mother
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Eusebia, queen of the local women (the "Tongues") and her father Vladimir, a weary police detective who is ready for retirement to a home he and Luz have secretly built in the DR as a surprise for Eusebia. But they all underestimate her passionate love for Nothar Park and its families, and when she hatches a deceptive and criminal plot to stop the ruination of their enclave, Luz and Vladimir remain ignorant of Eusebia's mental instability due to distractions of their own. Luz meets and falls in love with Hudson, the son of the primary developer, who turns out to have ideas about creating an impenetrable indoor environment to circumvent the inevitable destruction from global warming. The lives of the Guerrero family and their neighbors, and their mutual appreciation society, make this a gratifying and warm look at how cohesiveness can overcome hopelessness.
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Language

Original language

English

Physical description

336 p.; 9.25 inches

ISBN

0593358481 / 9780593358481
Page: 0.1254 seconds