Still Water Saints

By: Alex Espinoza

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Still Water Saints chronicles a momentous year in the life of Agua Mansa, a largely Latino town beyond the fringes of Los Angeles. Agua Mansa is home to the Botanica Oshun, where people come seeking charms, herbs, candles, and above all, the guidance of the shop's owner, Perla Portillo. Perla has served the community for years, arming her clients with the tools to overcome all manner of crises, large and small.

Among her customers are Juan, a businessman coming to terms with the death of his father; Nancy, a schoolteacher caught between the demands of her new husband and her parents; Shawn, an addict looking for peace; and Rosa, a teenager trying to lose weight and find herself. But when a customer with a troubled and mysterious past arrives, Perla struggles to confront her unfulfilled hopes and doubts about her place in a rapidly changing world.

©2007 Alex Espinoza (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

" Still Water Saints is charming, yet its charm is an uneasy one. Its whimsy has teeth. And that is, absolutely, a compliment." ( Los Angeles Times
"As perfect as the beads of a rosary." (Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street)
"A kaleidoscopic portrait of a town....[Espinoza] demonstrates a deep understanding of his characters." ( Kirkus Reviews)

memories of days gone by...

I loved this book. it made me remember and look I to my own past.

A puzzle story

Many stories & many points of view. I am always wondering how they will fit together.

missed opportunity

why in the world would you have a narrator who doesn't read Spanish do this book. I couldn't understand half the things she said and I speak Spanish. it takes so much away from the book to ignore the language. what a loss.