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The Taste of Sugar: A Novel

por Marisel Vera

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785340,735 (3.9)7
"Marisel Vera emerges as a major voice of contemporary fiction with a heart- wrenching novel set in Puerto Rico on the eve of the Spanish-American War. It is 1898, and groups of starving Puerto Ricans, los hambrientos, roam the parched countryside and dusty towns begging for food. Under the yoke of Spanish oppression, the Caribbean island is forced to prepare to wage war with the United States. Up in the mountainous coffee region of Utuado, Vicente Vega and Valentina Sanchez labor to keep their small farm from the creditors. When the Spanish-American War and the great San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899 bring devastating upheaval, the young couple is lured, along with thousands of other puertorriquenos, to the sugar plantations of Hawaii-another US territory-where they are confronted by the hollowness of America's promises of prosperity. Writing in the tradition of great Latin American storytelling, Marisel Vera's The Taste of Sugar is an unforgettable novel of love and endurance, and a timeless portrait of the reasons we leave home"--… (más)
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Mostrando 5 de 5
I was interested in learning a little history about life in Puerto, and a story can be a great way learn without being so dry as a textbook might be. But this ended up not being terribly enjoyable either. I suppose I did pick up a little information along the way, but overall I'm just pleased to be done with it. It's a strange writing style, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be in the vein of an oral history or something, sometimes it's a bit like a play where you only get one side of the conversation and have to piece the other side together from what's said in response. It wasn't terrible, but I'm not sure what purpose it was supposed to serve being like that. It felt like it kept the story kinda surface level.

But less enjoyable, this was just kind of a sad story about a variety of poor people. Which I could handle!, except they're written in kind of a shallow way that makes them seem like caricatures of people rather than actual people I might get to know and care about. And they're also written to appear kind of simple-minded. They make a bunch of glaringly obvious misjudgements the reader can see from a mile away and it makes them seem kind of pitiful. Like 'aww, the poor simpletons just don't know any better I guess', which is hardly flattering to all your main characters. The male characters are all pretty lustful in sort of a primitive way and the women are often vain or demanding or catty. I truly don't think the author was meaning to cast aspersions on Puerto Ricans as a whole or anything, but it still did feel a little like something a white settler in PR might have written 100 years ago not really meaning to demean the locals either. Except the white characters aren't all that likable either I guess. Mostly ignorant and judgemental, if not outright mean. ( )
  JorgeousJotts | Jul 2, 2022 |
I read this book while travelling Puerto Rico. The plot flowed quite well and kept me interested, which I appreciated. I wouldn't say it was a page turner but I certainly did enjoy the read. The ending was a tad disappointing to me and I felt like the book was being set up for a sequel, which is fine, but it just felt that the book stopped quite abruptly ( )
  dmbg | Sep 12, 2021 |
"That's what they want-Governor Allen and all the Americans- they want Puerto Ricans to leave Puerto Rico so that they can have the island for themselves. It's all there in the newspaper. All the reasons why the Americans want us to leave. All the reasons we shouldn't."

I am still reeling from the emotions I am still feeling as I write this. I have been searching for a book that feels like the heartbeat of Puerto Rico and that embodies the spirit of what it means to be Puerto Rican. The Taste of Sugar is it. It is raw, honest, emotional, and most of all necessary and required reading. This one completely rocked me to my core and made me sit with the truth of what it means to be unapologetically Puerto Rican. I found every single part of my identity within these pages. I cried and cried until I couldn't anymore but I'm left with this renewed spirit of ovetwhelming pride and hope for my people.

Vera holds nothing back and she speaks truth to power. She bares the soul of Puerto Rico naked on the pages for all to see. She leaves no room or doubt as to who is to blame for the exploitation and destruction of my beautiful island. Although this story is full of immense pain there are moments of joy bursting at the seams that remind me where I come from, who came before me, what they did for me and why we are still here. It reminds me of what is at the core of who we are and we have continued to survive: love, family and community. Our history is not lost and it is still relevant today because the oppression and abuse continue. Vera gives us the good, the bad and the ugly but reminds us that better is always on the horizon as long as we hold on to each other and let the spirit of our ancestors guide us. 'Trabajo y tristeza', colonialism, racism, colorism, patriarchy, violence against women, homophobia, infant mortality, and poverty are just chapters but the story of Puerto Rico is still a work in progress. Being Puerto Rican means "siguiendo la lucha pa'lante" carrying your homeland in your heart wherever you lay your head.

A coffee with sugar and a piece of bread will never taste the same. "El Cafe es brujo" while at the same time sustaining generations and whenever the taste of sugar touches my lips it will always taste bitter because it cost my people everything. Thanks to @writingbee2 for writing our story and letting the world know that we will still stand. Soy boricua hasta la muerte. In the words of Lolita Lebron: "There is no victory without pain." ( )
  Booklover217 | Aug 24, 2021 |
Beginning on the eve of the Spanish American war and continuing into the early years of the twentieth century, this work follows the story of Vicente Vega and Valentina Sanchez and Vicente's brother Raulito. The political situation and a hurricane in Puerto Rico makes it impossible for them to stay afloat with their small coffee plantation. After the war, many Puerto Ricans are promised a better outlook if they will go to Hawaii to work on the sugar cane plantations. Suffering many hardships along the way, the group lands in Hawaii where families are split apart by uncaring plantation management. Vicente and Valentina end up on the big island while Raulito lands in Oahu. They are treated little better than slaves. While promised payment in dollars, they are paid in scrip. The lunas whip the men even for any infraction including the need to pee. Unable to communicate with non-Spanish speaking plantation management, the situation sometimes seems hopeless. The shanties in which they live are poor excuses for homes. The description reminds me of Sugar Ditch, a poverty-stricken Mississippi area which gained national attention in the 1980s. Both Vicente and Raulito are jailed and sentenced to labor camps or chain gangs when they attempt to do something about their situation. The Japanese are in a similar situation as the Puerto Ricans, and Vicente and Valentina attempt to find a way to bridge the communication gap so the two groups can band together to obtain improvements. I didn't know much about the situations in Puerto Rico and Hawaii at this time prior to reading this novel. I wish the novel included a little more resolution in the story line, but not everything has a storybook ending. ( )
  thornton37814 | Jun 9, 2021 |
This book pulls together the connection between Puerto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands. After only meeting with disappointment and grief on their sugar plantation in Puerto Rico the Vega family leaves for Hawaii in 1900 after the American occupation of Puerto Rico. There’s lots of sadness but there’s hope at the end as the Vegas connect with other Puerto Ricans who have come to Hawaii to work in the sugar industry. ( )
  brangwinn | Jun 28, 2020 |
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"Marisel Vera emerges as a major voice of contemporary fiction with a heart- wrenching novel set in Puerto Rico on the eve of the Spanish-American War. It is 1898, and groups of starving Puerto Ricans, los hambrientos, roam the parched countryside and dusty towns begging for food. Under the yoke of Spanish oppression, the Caribbean island is forced to prepare to wage war with the United States. Up in the mountainous coffee region of Utuado, Vicente Vega and Valentina Sanchez labor to keep their small farm from the creditors. When the Spanish-American War and the great San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899 bring devastating upheaval, the young couple is lured, along with thousands of other puertorriquenos, to the sugar plantations of Hawaii-another US territory-where they are confronted by the hollowness of America's promises of prosperity. Writing in the tradition of great Latin American storytelling, Marisel Vera's The Taste of Sugar is an unforgettable novel of love and endurance, and a timeless portrait of the reasons we leave home"--

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