Dominicana by Angie Cruz
Published by John Murray, 2020
My rating: ⭐ ⭐
My biggest issue with Dominicana is its paint-by-numbers approach to reflecting the immigrant experience. We follow 15-year-old Ana, who moves to New York from the Dominican Republic in the 1960s following an arranged marriage, with the hope that her family will soon be able to follow. Instead, she finds herself trapped in a loveless relationship, largely confined to a cold apartment.
From there, we hit pretty much every narrative beat you’d expect, with the story adhering to a very predictable and uninspiring trajectory. Harmful stereotypes (like Ana’s abusive, immigrant husband) go frustratingly unexplored; historical details (like the assassination of Malcom X, which takes place right outside Ana’s door) are so plonked in and glossed over they feel like a lazy attempt to establish emotional resonance; and the supporting characters are entirely one dimensional, resulting in a lot of untapped potential.
This may have been easier to contend with if the prose had been outstanding, but sadly this wasn’t the case either. Though Cruz’s prose is certainly readable on a technical level, it’s also very clumsy at times, weighed down by overblown metaphors (“César [is] the color of the crunchy skin off of juicy roast chicken thigh, creamy hot chocolate, buttered toast, dark honey, the broth of slow-cooked sancocho.”).
The one thread that holds initial promise is Ana’s sense of isolation and cultural bewilderment when she first arrives in the US. But as with everything else, it feels underdeveloped – and it’s arguably undone when Ana falls for another man with whom she quickly finds the connection and company she lacked.
I’d like to give this the benefit of the doubt and say my mind wasn’t best equipped to engage with it given everything that’s going on right now, but I suspect even that is being generous. In truth, this just wasn’t for me, unfortunately. Perhaps those with experiences closer aligned with Ana’s will feel a connection to the story; for me, it felt familiar, flat, and underwhelming.
If you think you’ll have better luck with it, or if you’re also making your way through the Women’s Prize longlist, you can pick up a copy of Dominicana from Book Depository by clicking here.
WOMEN’S PRIZE 2020 REVIEWS SO FAR:
1. Girl, Woman, Other | 2. Hamnet | 3. Fleishman Is in Trouble | 4. Girl | 5. A Thousand Ships | 6. Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line
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Great review, Callum. That quote you pulled was particularly cringe-worthy. I’m a little apprehensive now at approaching this book.
Thank you! Reviews on Goodreads are generally quite good, so fingers crossed you get on better with it than I did!
felt exactly the same about this when i read it last year! i disliked it so much i ended up DNFing it so when it popped up on the womens prize longlist i was like 😬😬😬😬😬😬
I’m glad I’m not the only one who was disappointed! It’s a shame, as I’m sure there were lots of books published within the last year that tackled similar themes with much more nuance and originality.
Great review! I am about 1/3 through this book right now and have been VERY underwhelmed. Like you say, it isn’t a technically challenging book…it’s just not very compelling and the characters don’t feel very real. I was hoping it would get better, but based on your review I think it won’t haha
Thank you! Here’s hoping it improves a little for you; it does have lots of positive reviews on Goodreads, so you never know!
Great review! It begs the question, how did this novel make it into the Women’s Prize longlist? I’ve seen quite a few unenthusiastic reviews by now.
I feel the same way. I’m sure there were books published within the last year that tackled similar topics with much greater success that would have warranted a place on the list above this.
Is it bad that I feel mostly vindicated that you agree?! This book was just shockingly mediocre in every conceivable way… And the ‘abusive immigrant husband’ trope I found infuriating.
I reread your review after I posted this and we really were on the same page!
So many people whose opinions I trust have disliked this, so I know it’s not for me!
It generally has pretty good reviews online, but I’ve also been seeing increasingly negative reviews from people I follow. I can’t say I’d recommend it either, sadly.
Great review! I completely agree with all of your points, though I went in with VERY low expectations for the prose and ended up finding it readable enough, which I think helped me get through without hating the book more. (Reading this one right after Girl probably didn’t hurt either, I really struggled with that one.) I hope we’ve gotten through the lowest points of the longlist now and can enjoy the rest!
Thank you! Very true; here’s hoping it’s upwards from here 🤞🏻
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