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May 27, 2022 @ 7:30 pm
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In-Person | Neruda on the Park: An Evening with Cleyvis Natera and Ana Menéndez
Books & Books and Miami Book Fair present…
An Evening with Cleyvis Natera
in conversation with
Ana Menéndez
discussing
Neruda on the Park: A Novel
(Ballantine Books, $28)
Friday, May 27, 7:30 PM ET
RSVP
About the Book:
An exhilarating debut novel following members of a Dominican family in New York City who take radically different paths when faced with encroaching gentrification
“Strikes all the right notes—captivating characters, lyrical language, and a storyline that captures your imagination and refuses to let go . . . an unforgettable debut!”—Tayari Jones, New York Times bestselling author of An American Marriage
ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022—The Rumpus, Electric Lit, The Millions, Lit Hub
The Guerreros have lived in Nothar Park, a predominantly Dominican part of New York City, for twenty years. When demolition begins on a neighboring tenement, Eusebia, an elder of the community, takes matters into her own hands by devising an increasingly dangerous series of schemes to stop construction of the luxury condos. Meanwhile, Eusebia’s daughter, Luz, a rising associate at a top Manhattan law firm who strives to live the bougie lifestyle her parents worked hard to give her, becomes distracted by a sweltering romance with the handsome white developer at the company her mother so vehemently opposes.
As Luz’s father, Vladimir, secretly designs their retirement home in the Dominican Republic, mother and daughter collide, ramping up tensions in Nothar Park, racing toward a near-fatal climax.
A beautifully layered portrait of family, friendship, and ambition, Neruda on the Park weaves a rich and vivid tapestry of community as well as the sacrifices we make to protect what we love most, announcing Cleyvis Natera as an electrifying new voice.
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About the Author:
CLEYVIS NATERAwas born in the Dominican Republic, migrated to the U.S. at ten years old, and grew up in New York City. She holds a BA from Skidmore College and an MFA from New York University. Her writing has won awards and fellowships from PEN America, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, The Kenyon Review’s Summer Writers Workshops, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She lives with her husband and two young children in Montclair, New Jersey. This is her first novel.
About the Moderator:
ANA MENÉNDEZ is an associate professor at FIU with joint appointments in English and the Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab. A former journalist, columnist, and freelance photographer, she was a 2008-2009 Fulbright Scholar in Cairo. She has published four books of fiction. Her fifth book, The Apartment, will be out in spring 2023.