It was interesting to include this especially when Juan decides to go down to the Dominican to help. Angie Cruz does a great job incorporating a little of this into her book, but with a lot of subtly. The story takes place over the span of a year during the 1960s right at the height of the Vietnam War, Malcolm X’s death, and around the time 42,000 US Marines are sent to the Dominican Republic to avoid another Cuba happening. But as you continue on, you find that this book is much more complex than just a woman struggling to find her voice in her family. When I was reading this at first, I thought this had a lot of the same feelings I had for A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum. What Cesar provides is exactly what Ana wants including a loving companion and when Juan finally returns from his trip, she has to decide if she wants to run away with Cesar or stay at home with her husband. What Cesar provides to Ana is everything she wanted with Juan nights at the movies, working together, going to Coney Island, eating a hot dog, and the security of someone who can navigate the twisted American streets. So Ana begins to hustle selling suits, her home cooking, and doing small jobs from her little apartment while her baby continues to grow in her belly and Juan continues to mistreat her including sleeping with another woman.īut when Juan hears about the turmoil in the Dominican Republic, he rushes off to defend his country leaving Ana alone with his younger brother, Cesar. And all along the way, her family asks for money to send home and help them out. However, the reality of the “American Dream” comes fraught with a husband who doesn’t hesitate to hit her, who doesn’t let her leave the house, who doesn’t let her talk to anyone, who doesn’t give her anything but sadness and a baby. The reason? For the opportunity to make money in the country that promises a lot of big dreams. The results blew me away.ĭominicana is the story of a young girl named Ana, who’s about to embark to New York from the Dominican Republic to marry Juan, a man twice her age. After working with the publisher to give away two copies of the book, I decided it’s a great opportunity to read and whoa. So, when I got the opportunity to pick up an ARC of the book, I grabbed it. She read it for work and told me that it was definitely going to be something I would really enjoy. A friend of mine recommend this book to me months ago.

Dominicana by angie cruz review