Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

The Book of Lost Saints

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
An evocative multigenerational Cuban-American family story of revolution, loss, and family bonds. Marisol vanished during the Cuban Revolution, disappearing with hardly a trace. Now, shaped by atrocities long-forgotten, her foul-mouthed spirit visits her nephew, Ramon, in modern day New Jersey. Her hope: That her presence will prompt him to unearth their painful family history. Ramon launches a haphazard investigation into the story of his ancestor, unaware of the forces driving him on his search. Along the way, he falls in love, faces a run-in with a murderous gangster, and uncovers the lives of the lost saints who helped Marisol during her imprisonment. The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel Jose Older is a haunting meditation on family, forgiveness, and the violent struggle to be free.
  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from September 30, 2019
      A ghost of the Cuban revolution haunts the pages of this vivid and emotional literary fantasy from Older (Shadowhouse Fall). Marisol Aragones died after Castro gained power and the Cuban revolution turned sour, but she can’t remember how or why. Now a disembodied spirit in early-2000s New Jersey, with only a tenuous foothold in the land of the living, her one hope for piecing together her past is through her nephew, Ramon. Marisol spends her days observing—and criticizing—Ramon’s work as a hospital security guard and DJ and his hopeless feelings for his no-strings-attached fling, Aliceana Mendoza. At night, she infiltrates his dreams to give him visions of what little she remembers of her life during the revolution. These dreams send Ramon on a quest to uncover long-buried family secrets, dragging a difficult truth from his mother and traveling with Aliceana to Cuba, where the resistance works against the government in secret. Older’s descriptions of Cuba, both past and present, are thoroughly transportive. This moving story of family and freedom is sure to captivate readers.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Sofia Quintero's performance of this audiobook is compelling. Listeners are drawn into her first-person portrayal of Marisol, who encourages her nephew, Ram�n, to solve a mystery with a twist: Marisol died during the Cuban Revolution, and Ram�n is living in present-day New Jersey. Listeners come to know Marisol's ghost, particularly her empathetic voice, which Quintero effectively provides. Ram�n--by day a hospital orderly, by night a club DJ--comes to discover his heritage, eventually making his way to Cuba with the help of Marisol's spiritual interventions, seeking answers about his life and Marisol's death. The journey is complicated, but Quintero's performance skillfully places listeners in the locales of revolution-era Cuba and its contemporary--yet segregated and bureaucratic--counterpart. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Loading