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    Velorio: A Novel
    Velorio: A Novel
    Velorio: A Novel
    Audiobook8 hours

    Velorio: A Novel

    Written by Xavier Navarro Aquino

    Narrated by Diana Pou, Vico Ortiz, María Victoria Martínez and

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    “This debut novel traces a group of survivors who fall under the spell of an authoritarian cult leader in the days following Hurricane Maria’s destruction in Puerto Rico. It is deeply imagined and deeply felt – imagistic and strange and haunting – and simmering with grief and rage.”  -- Gabriela Garcia, New York Times bestselling author

    Set in the wake of Hurricane Maria, Xavier Navarro Aquino’s unforgettable debut novel follows a remarkable group of survivors searching for hope on an island torn apart by both natural disaster and human violence.

    Camila is haunted by the death of her sister, Marisol, who was caught by a mudslide during the huracán. Unable to part with Marisol, Camila carries her through town, past the churchyard, and, eventually, to the supposed utopia of Memoria. 

    Urayoán, the idealistic, yet troubled cult leader of Memoria, has a vision for this new society, one that in his eyes is peaceful and democratic. The paradise he preaches lures in the young, including Bayfish, a boy on the cusp of manhood, and Morivivi, a woman whose outward toughness belies an inner tenderness for her friends. But as the different members of Memoria navigate Urayoán’s fiery rise, they will need to confront his violent authoritarian impulses in order to find a way to reclaim their home.

    Velorio—meaning “wake”—is a story of strength, resilience, and hope; a tale of peril and possibility buoyed by the deeply held belief in a people’s ability to unite against those corrupted by power. 

    Editor's Note

    Signs of hope…

    Opening in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, Aquino’s “Velorio” throws readers into total chaos and unspeakable violence, and never lets go. Told through the eyes of six narrators as they search for signs of hope — including a young woman carrying the corpse of her sister and a young, charismatic cult leader looking to take power as the island struggles to find its footing — this debut is about the strength and resilience we find when pushed to our absolute limits.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJan 4, 2022
    ISBN9780063071407
    Author

    Xavier Navarro Aquino

    Xavier Navarro Aquino was born and raised in Puerto Rico. His fiction has appeared in Tin House, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, and Guernica. He has been awarded scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, a MacDowell Fellowship, and an ACLS Emerging Voices Fellowship at Dartmouth College. Aquino is currently an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame where he teaches in the MFA program.

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