The Book of Lost Saints

Betrayal and forgiveness, ghosts of the past, and family

Older’s latest is firmly set in the real, in contemporary New York City and in flashbacks to the Cuban Revolution—despite the obvious touch of magic—it’s narrated by an angry and confused spirit. She's trying to figure out what happened to her and her family during the Revolution by manipulating her adult nephew. Feeding him stories through his dreams in the hopes that he will start ask questions and investigate his family’s dark heritage. The structure of this book is amazing, the story is enthralling, and it gave me a feel for a period in recent history that I have not fully explored in Battista’s and Castro’s Cuba.  It’s a tough read for the remembered violence and deep sense of betrayal, but it is also a beautiful meditation on freedom, family and forgiveness. Fans of The Water Dancer by Coates or The World that We Knew by Hoffman should give this a try.