cold
Took this latest novel in verse from Margarita Engle to my follow up eye appointment on Monday. I knew, given how the office operates, that I would have time to read it before seeing the doc. Yep, I did. But you know, I have grown accustomed to the wait and do not mind it as long as the waiting area is quiet enough to read (side note: when I had the outpatient surgery on the eye last week, the waiting room had ONLY Fox News which was being blasted, according to the receptionist, for patient privacy). So, enough for right now about the state of health care. On to the book.
HURRICANE DANCERS (Holt 2011) tells a fictionalized version of the first Caribbean pirate shipwreck. Engle uses multiple voices to relate the events of the shipwreck and the aftermath. Quebrado has been a slave on the ship. He rejoices when the shipwreck gives him the chance to be free again. The slaver, one of his political hostages, and some of the native people take turns narrating the story. There is even a lovely romance of Narido and Caucubu at the heart of the tale. Engle concludes with some notes about the history of the Amerindian race, the indigenous race of Cuba (Engle herself is descended from this population). <166>
Novels in verse are quick reads. However, they are not lightweight as Engle has proven time and again with THE SURRENDER TREE.