“Epic” and “sweeping” are often used to describe historical novels. It’s a genre that sometimes features history-altering wars and famous figures with an innocent bystander caught between the two, and forced into the role of reluctant hero. There is little mystery from the historical aspect; the fiction provides all of the tension via the individual caught up in world events.
Esmeralda Santiago’s new novel, Conquistadora (Alfred A. Knopf, $26.95), doesn’t fall neatly into the historical fiction category. Set almost entirely in Puerto Rico in the 19th century, it doesn’t feature any famous figures, wars, or innocent people caught up in tumultuous times. But it’s still historical in nature, as slavery, women’s rights, and Puerto Rican independence are all prominent. Almost all of the action occurs on a sugar cane plantation on the western part of the island, with occasional diversions to San Juan. What it may lack in the “epic” and “sweeping” categories, it more than makes up for in the social and personal diasporas.
Gloriosa Ana Maria de los Angeles Larragoity Cubillas Nieves de Donostia, or Ana for short, is an only child born into a wealthy and prominent family in Seville, Spain. Her parents may have doted on her were it not for the fact that three brothers died shortly after birth before her. As a female first born, her family will not be able perpetuate their legacy, and Ana takes the blame. She is high spirited and rambunctious, not at all like her mother who was “devout, obedient, humble, and demure.” She spends the summers on her grandfather’s farm, and there discovers the journals of an ancestor who was with Ponce de Leon when he landed on Puerto Rico. His descriptions of the island capture her attention, and she begins dreaming of her own life there.
This article appears in Aug 4-10, 2011.