The Line of the Sun: A Novel“A colorful, revealing portrait of Puerto Rican culture and domestic relationship” from the award-winning poet and author of An Island Like You (Publishers Weekly). Set in the 1950s and 1960s, The Line of the Sun moves from a rural Puerto Rican village to a tough immigrant housing project in New Jersey, telling the story of a Hispanic family’s struggle to become part of a new culture without relinquishing the old. At the story’s center is Guzmán, an almost mythic figure whose adventures and exile, salvation and return leave him a broken man but preserve his place in the heart and imagination of his niece, who is his secret biographer. “Cofer . . . reveals herself to be a prose writer of evocatively lyrical authority, a novelist of historical compass and sensitivity . . . One recognizes in the rich weave and vigorous elegance of the language of The Line of the Sun a writer of authentic gifts, with a genuine and important story to tell.”—The New York Times Book Review “There is great strength in the way Cofer evokes the fierce, loving, and brave Latin spirit that is the novel’s real theme.”—Joyce Johnson, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author “The Line of the Sun reads like a dream, from the beautifully realized description of the deceptive Paradise Lost, to the utterly different but equally vivid world of the urban North . . . This is a splendid first novel.”—The State (Columbia, South Carolina) “The writing in this superb novel stuns and surprises at every turn. Its sensuality and imagery . . . are riveting.”—The San Juan Star |
Contents
| 1 | |
Chapter Two | 47 |
Chapter Three | 76 |
Chapter Four | 105 |
Chapter Five | 132 |
Chapter Six | 157 |
Chapter Seven | 169 |
Chapter Eight | 190 |
Chapter Nine | 215 |
Chapter Ten | 227 |
Chapter Eleven | 248 |
Chapter Twelve | 272 |
Epilogue | 286 |
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Common terms and phrases
apartment arms asked beautiful Blanquita blond brother Building Cabra called Carmelo César chair child clothes cockfight Daniel Santos dark daughter Don Juan Doña Amparo Doña Julia Doña Tina door dress drink El Building El Padrecito Elba eyes face father feet fell front Gabriel girl guayabera Guzmán felt Guzmán saw hair hand head heard Island kitchen knew La Cabra leave listen lived looked Luis Mamá Cielo Mamá's Marisol Mayagüez mother never night niña orisha Padre Gonzalo Papá Pepe Paterson Puerto Rican pulled Rafael Ramona river Rosa's Rosario Salud Santacruz Santiago Sarita seemed seen shoulders side Sister Rosa sitting skin smell smiled spiritist spoke stay street talk tell thing thought told tonight took town turned voice waiting walked wanted watched window woman women young