In this captivating novel, Jenry Castillo, son of a single Cuban American mother, arrives at Brown University on a piano scholarship. His first goal upon arriving on campus is to meet his estranged grandfather, Winston Patterson, an esteemed scholar of Black history who might shed light on Jenry’s father Jasper, who died when the boy was two. Winston upends Jenry’s world, however, by telling him that he was never raised by Jasper, but rather by Jasper’s sister Juliet, who was in a romantic relationship with Jenry’s mother Marisa.
Juliet, a brilliant pianist herself, left Marisa early in Jenry’s life, unable to commit to Marisa as she pursues her own career and struggles with alcohol addiction. Yet Juliet still saw Jenry as her son, and leaving him gave her scars that have never fully healed.
The story unfolds through sections told from each perspective: Jenry, Marisa, Juliet, Jasper, Winston, and Marisa’s father Victor, and through their stories, further secrets are revealed. No one is left unscathed from the generations of lies, but there are no lone villains here. All have flaws, faults, and blind spots that have driven their lives and their relationships with each other. We also see how racism, sexism, and homophobia have affected the characters’ lives and outlooks, but the story is less about redressing those ills per se, and more about how our choices within such a world impact ourselves and others.
Throughout, author Rachel M. Harper explores what it means to be a parent and a family, the many ways we can lose someone, the reverberating effect of our personal choices, and whether redemption is possible. She gives us a narrative rich in insight that nevertheless draws readers in to a compelling family saga. Highly recommended.
