The Storytellers Death, Ann Davila Cardinal
The Storytellers Death, Ann Davila Cardinal
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Storyteller's Death

Author: Ann Dávila Cardinal

Narrator: Marisol Ramirez

Unabridged: 9 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 10/04/2022


Synopsis

There was always an old woman dying in the back room of her family’s house when Isla was a child.

Isla Larsen Sanchez’s life begins to unravel when her father passes away. Instead of being comforted at home in New Jersey, her mother starts leaving her in Puerto Rico with her grandmother and great-aunt each summer like a piece of forgotten luggage.

When Isla turns eighteen, her grandmother, a great storyteller, dies. It is then that Isla discovers she has a gift passed down through her family’s cuentistas. The tales of dead family storytellers are brought back to life, replaying themselves over and over in front of her.

At first, Isla is enchanted by this connection to the Sanchez cuentistas. But when Isla has a vision of an old murder mystery, she realizes that if she can’t solve it to make the loop end, these seemingly harmless stories could cost Isla her life.

About Ann Dávila Cardinal

Ann Dávila Cardinal is a novelist and director of student recruitment for Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) where she earned her MFA in Writing. She also helped create VCFA’s winter writing residency in Puerto Rico. She comes from a long line of Puerto Rican writers, including poets Virgilio and José Antonio Dávila, and her cousin, award-winning fiction writer Tere Dávila. Ann lives north of Stowe, Vermont with her husband Doug and son Carlos, and likes to spend her free time cycling, doing fiber arts, and preparing for the zombie apocalypse. Five Midnights (Tor Teen) was her first solo novel.


Reviews

Isla Larsen Sanchez’s life starts to fall apart when her dad passes away. Dumped in Puerto Rico every summer by her alcoholic mother, Isla starts to develop a bond with her great-aunt. When Isla turns 18, her grandmother dies, leaving behind a gift (or a curse) where Isla has visions. However, not al......more

Goodreads review by Issa

I’m at a loss for words with how much I needed this book. As a young Puerto Rican woman, as someone who constantly thinks about the importance of stories, and of legacy, and of being remembered. I don’t want to spoil too much of this book, but if you love books about complex family secrets, challeng......more

What really stood out to me about this book was the author’s note where she references Kei Miller collection, Thing I Have Withheld . In this collection he mentions an old woman in the back room that we don’t walk about. Author Ann Dávila Cardinal explores that in her novel so beautifully. We mee......more

A family saga looped in with magical realism. This beautiful story steeped in magical realism delves into identity, home, family, history, colorism and racism. Full review to come. EDIT: If The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina and The House of the Spirits were to to have literary offspring, you'd get T......more