The Iguana Tree
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Set amid the perils of illegal border crossings, The Iguana Tree is the suspenseful saga of Lilia and Hector, who separately make their way from Mexico into the United States, seeking work in the Carolinas and a home for their infant daughter.
Michel Stone s harrowing novel meticulously examines the obstacles each faces in pursuing a new life: manipulation, rape, and murder in the perilous commerce of border crossings; betrayal by family and friends; exploitation by corrupt officials and rapacious landowners on the U.S. side; and, finally, the inexorable workings of the U.S. justice system.
Hector and Lilia meet Americans willing to help them with legal assistance and offers of responsible employment, but their illegal entry seems certain to prove their undoing. The consequences of their decisions are devastating. In the end, The Iguana Tree is a universal story of loss, grief, and human dignity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Short-story writer and essayist Stone's beautiful debut novel tracks the hopes and travails of a Mexican couple rent by figurative and physical borders. Lilia and H ctor have strong ties to Puerto Isadore Lilia's family has called it home for generations but the allure of a better life in America prompts H ctor to entrust himself to a coyote and endure a terrifying and trying journey that lands him in South Carolina. Meanwhile, Lilia remains at home to care for their infant daughter and cope with the passing of her grandmother on her own. As H ctor and Lilia fight their own battles thousands of miles apart, the divide grows too burdensome for Lilia whose friends maintain that H ctor has abandoned her, "ashamed of his heritage" who attempts her own crossing in hopes of joining her husband. However, as is the case for many would-be immigrants, the trip is disastrous, and the realized risks far outweigh the potential rewards. H ctor and Lilia's hopes and trepidations are poignant and honest, and Stone manages to deftly address a serious political and humanitarian issue without seeming heavy-handed. Well-written, expertly paced, and timely.
