A tale of generations of Dominican women. Graciela is an adventuress who comes of age during the U.S. occupation but is too poor to live her dreams. Her daughter Mercedes grows up to manage a shop during the Trujillo dictatorship and emigrates to New York with her husband and granddaughter Leila. Leila has inherited Graciela's recklessness, but her freedom carries its own obligations and dangers.

Los plátanos son la comida favorita de Yesenia. Pueden ser dulces y azucarados o salados y sabrosos. Y son parte de casi todas las comidas que prepara su familia dominicana. Pasa por su apartamento y descubre por qué los plátanos van con todo, ¡especialmente con el amor! "Yesenia introduces readers to her favorite food--plátanos--which go with everything, especially love, in this ode to the star of Dominican cuisine"--

A sweeping novel spanning 100 years & the lives of a heroic mother & daughter; inspired by real events. Annotation. In her most ambitious work since In the Time of Butterflies, Julia Alvarez tells the story of a woman whose poetry inspired one Caribbean revolution and of her daughter whose dedication to teaching strengthened another. Camila Henriquez Urena is about to retire from her longtime job teaching Spanish at Vassar College. Only now as she...