Overview
Pura Belpr? Honor Book
BEST OF THE YEARChicago Review of Books – Kirkus – Los Angeles Public Library Publishers Weekly Flying Start High Spirits is a collection of eleven interconnected short stories from the Dominican diaspora, from debut author Camille Gomera-Tavarez. It is a book centered on one extended family – the Bel?ns – across multiple generations. It is set in the fictional small town of Hidalpa – and Santo Domingo and Paterson and San Juan and Washington Heights too. It is told in a style both utterly real and distinctly magical – and its stories explore machismo, mental health, family, and identity. But most of all, High Spirits represents the first book from Camille Gomera-Tavarez, who takes her place as one of the most extraordinary new voices to emerge in years. For fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Sandra Cisneros, Angie Cruz, and Yaa Gyasi P R A I S E ★ “Authentic and immersive…A labor of love imbued with dedication to family.”
–Kirkus (starred) ★ “Deeply personal and relatable. Steeped in nostalgia and harsh but fierce love, this is a memorable family saga in its own right.”
–Booklist (starred) ★ “Full of vivid and poetic imagery… settings worthy of drinking in, and thematic material ripe for contemplation about identity, intergenerational memory, and patriarchy and toxic masculinity, Gomera-Tavarez’s soulfully crafted debut is a sensitive, intrinsically feminist work.”
–Publishers Weekly (starred) “A magical and unflinching look at the Dominican Diaspora.”
–Dominican Writers Association