Starred review from May 29, 2023
Rogers debuts with the riotous and tragicomic story of a Rio de Janeiro family in turmoil over lies, infidelity, and parental abandonment. The narrative unfolds over the week leading up to a bacchanalian New Year’s Eve celebration on the city’s Copacabana Beach, and is told in turn by Daniel Cunha; his younger sister, Lucia (both are in their early 20s); their mother, Maria, who left for the U.S. six years earlier; and their grandparents. Much of the drama is tied to Maria’s past relationship with her sister, Nara, who is now in prison after her drug dealer husband Antonio was killed in a police raid. Did Maria, jealous of Nara’s beauty, turn her and Antonio in before deserting her children for not just one, but two American men? Who exactly was Nara’s father? And for that matter, who is Lucia’s? These questions are raised by Maria’s return to Rio, where Daniel, whose girlfriend has left him, is adrift and prone to violence. Meanwhile, Lucia, who is restless and bookish but lacking opportunities, feels responsible for Nara’s daughter. The voices of the siblings, Lucia’s in particular, resound with rage, fear, and uncertainty: “Existence was a putrid, overflowing dump... but I wanted all of it,” she declares. Rogers’s plot sizzles as much as the Copacabana Beach where the party’s fateful events play out. This packs a powerful punch. Agent: Chris Clemans, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.
Starred review from July 1, 2023
Brazilian American Rogers' debut novel is polyphonic, raw, and a revelation. Set in Rio de Janeiro over the turn of a recent New Year and bouncing back and forth around those festive days, the novel streams non-chronologically across three parts, from purgat�rio to inferno to para�so, according to who's narrating that day and what tale they're recounting, be it ancient or from that same morning. The central characters are irascible and charming Daniel and his responsible and affectionate sister, Lucia. The other family members' stories flow around their axis as consciousness moves them. There's alcoholic Grandpa Jo�o on his deathbed; Grandma Marta, whose story includes passion, conscience, and conversations with the dead; their entitled and selfish mother, Maria; and their innocent little cousin Marta. Shadowy men from the U.S. who manipulate people without remorse set off shock waves that reverberate as a legacy of abandonment and betrayal that the siblings struggle to transcend as they traverse a dark and dangerous Rio teeming with partygoers, pickpockets, and tourists. Daniel and Lucia are in constant danger from thugs of the outlaw or law enforcement varieties. Through that darkness, glimmers of love, hope, and redemption shine through Rogers', by turns, shocking and brutal, effervescent and delightful tale.
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