Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique
Published by Hudson Street Press, 2015
PB, 402pp
In the early 1900s, the Virgin Islands are transferred from Danish to American rule and an important ship sinks into the Caribbean Sea. Orphaned by the shipwreck and the death of its doomed captain are two sisters and their half-brother, now faced with an uncertain identity and future. Each is unusually beautiful and each is in possession of a partiular magic that will either destroy or save them.
Uniquely imagined, told in a language and rhythm that evoke an entire world and way of life, Land of Love and Drowning follows one island family through sixty years of fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, love affairs, curses, magical gifts, loyalties, births, deaths and triumphs. Set against the story of St. Thomas, it is a gorgeous, vibrant debut.