Ana Falcón, along with her husband Lucho and their two young children, has fled the economic and political strife of Peru for a chance at a new life in New York City in the 1990s. Being undocumented, however, has significantly curtailed the family’s opportunities: Ana is indebted to a loan shark who calls herself Mama, and is stretched thin by unceasing shifts at her factory job. To make matters worse, Ana must also battle both criticism from Lucho’s cousin—who has made it obvious the family is not welcome to stay in her spare room for much longer—and escalating and unwanted attention from Mama’s husband.

As the pressure builds, Ana becomes increasingly desperate. While Lucho dreams of returning to Peru, Ana is deeply haunted by the demons she left behind and determined to persevere in this new country. But how many sacrifices is she willing to make before admitting defeat and returning to Peru? And what lines is she willing to cross in order to protect her family?

To be released at meetup.

Recommended by Jean-Sol, I took this away for next year’s 666 reading challenge.

This book kept me interested as the story of an undocumented immigrant family from Peru unfolded. Life for them seemed to become tougher as the years went on, and Ana and Lucho both dealt with their reasons for leaving Peru and for staying in New York.
The author managed to depict the stark living conditions of Ana’s family as they battled to make ends meet by their menial work and having to live under the roof of a disgruntled family member.

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On TBR pile

I was expecting more from this book, and was a bit disappointed. It was a depressing read on the difficulties of the immigrant experience, especially for the undocumented immigrant,with the threat of deportation hanging over them. Ana and Lucho and their two children have fled the political upheaval of Peru towards the end of the 20th century and are living in New York and living with Lucho’s cousin. They have a debt with a loan shark, and just can’t seem to get ahead, but Ana is determined to make a go of it.Lucho thinks they should go back to Peru as his university education means nothing in America and he can only get menial jobs, and he is currently driving a cab and Ana is working in a factory sewing.

To be left in the Library on the Holland America ship the Oosterdam