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Title: The Veins of the Ocean
Subtitle: A Novel
Author: Patricia Engel
Narrator: Patricia Engel
Format: Unabridged
Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
Language: English
Release date: 06-13-16
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 15 votes
Genres: Fiction, Literary
Publisher's Summary:
Reina Castillo is an alluring young woman whose beloved brother is serving a death sentence for a crime that shocked the community: throwing a baby off a bridge - a crime for which Reina secretly blames herself. With her brother's death, though devastated and in mourning, Reina is finally released from her prison vigil. Seeking anonymity, she moves to a sleepy town in the Florida Keys, where she meets Nesto Cadena, a recently exiled Cuban awaiting with hope the arrival of the children he left behind in Havana.
Through Nesto's love of the sea and capacity for faith, Reina comes to understand her own connections to the life-giving and destructive forces of the ocean that surrounds her as well as its role in her family's troubled history, and in their companionship she begins to find freedom from the burden of guilt she carries for her brother's crime.
Set in the vibrant coastal and Caribbean communities of Miami; the Florida Keys; Havana, Cuba; and Cartagena, Colombia, with The Veins of the Ocean, Patricia Engel delivers a profound and riveting Pan-American story of fractured lives finding solace and redemption in the beauty and power of the natural world - and in one another.
Critic Reviews:
"A dark comedy with unexpected heart." (Kirkus)
Members Reviews:
Exquisite read
This book found me.... Like when you are called by a distant voice around a corner...this book explores Forgiveness from so many vantage points and harmonizes them into one being, the protagonist... I hope this book finds many others...as it found me...and baptized me in the Veins of its Ocean...forgiven and reborn...
Five Stars
I enjoyed every page of it. Great story I loved it
Five Stars
So far as I have read I am enjoying this read. Thank you.
Five Stars
Fast delivery and nicely packaged
Beautiful but uneven
This book had significant ups and downs. The good: unbelievably beautiful description, both of physical things (ocean, building, sky, weather, animals, people) and intangible things (the attitude of a prison guard; the feelings a dolphin might have; the way the air or ocean might prompt a memory so rich it hurts.) Lots of fascinating information about life as an immigrant, life before immigration, life in Cuba, life in Cartagena, life in Florida.
The not-so-good: the flashbacks, told in past tense, are too numerous and lengthy. They both explain and take you out of the story. In fact, I would say there are two stories going on at the same time. Reina's present life, which is told in first person, present tense; and the flashbacks, which are, I think, meant to explain why she is who she is and what she needs to do to change. However, it's just too much.
Then on top of that, there's a third narrative going on: myth. There is a myth to parallel every other scene. They're good myths, in some cases, like after Nesto and Reina take action (don't want to spoil it), but it's distracting. I found the pace a little too slow, and have to admit I began skimming toward the last third of the book. I get the feeling Ms. Engel put a lot of effort into this book, and it's beautiful, but it might have benefited from some trimming.
