The Taste of Sugar

By: Marisel Vera

Narrated by: Kyla García

Marisel Vera emerges as a major voice of contemporary fiction with a heart-wrenching novel set in Puerto Rico on the eve of the Spanish-American War.

It is 1898, and groups of starving Puerto Ricans, los hambrientos, roam the parched countryside and dusty towns begging for food. Under the yoke of Spanish oppression, the Caribbean island is forced to prepare to wage war with the United States. Up in the mountainous coffee region of Utuado, Vicente Vega and Valentina Sanchez labor to keep their small farm from the creditors. When the Spanish-American War and the great San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899 bring devastating upheaval, the young couple is lured, along with thousands of other puertorriqueños, to the sugar plantations of Hawaii - another US territory - where they are confronted by the hollowness of America's promises of prosperity.

Writing in the tradition of great Latin American storytelling, Marisel Vera's The Taste of Sugar is an unforgettable novel of love and endurance and a timeless portrait of the reasons we leave home.

©2020 Marisel Vera (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

The story is good. The narrators characters are well done Hard subjects of poverty child sbuse are handled very well.

The narrators pauses after each sentence breaking up the flow of the story. The story is good. The narrators characters are well done Hard subjects

A Taste of the island

The way this story is told, it takes you back to Puerto Rico in the late 1800s, early 1900s and into lives of these characters. You feel the joy of the little things as well as the sadness and desperation that comes from the domino affect of life. It takes some time for the story to develop as you get to know the characters but it helps you understand who each character is.

Story was easy to follow.

It came from the perspective of of both leading characters, as well as subordinate characters, which helped keep me connected to the characters.

Very Interesting Story, Heartbroken If All Is True.

I didn't know this history and I live in the Caribbean! I would have given fewer stars for the writing but the history is really important to be told.

Fascinating

I thought the story was an excellent historical account. I did not know about Puerto Ricans in Hawaii. I loved the Spanish words and phrases tucked into the narration. The narration was excellent as was the character development. The story was a little disjointed at the end.