Eye Of The Storm
In Little Havana an old man pens the pain of his past. Lazaro (Lazarito) Lopez wants to forgive but he can’t forget. His psyche is stained by a painful history. The seventy-year-old Cuban American yearns to tell the story of his family’s brush with disaster and his own personal agony. So, when he’s blessed with the lyrical guidance of a majestic muse, he’s grateful to put his heart on paper, even if it means revisiting deeply held secrets. Seeking wisdom from the gods of Santeria, Lazaro dredges up decades-old revelations and confronts the fallout from a killer hurricane. It destroyed his family home, provoked violence, shattered his trust, and changed the course of his life forever.
“Eye of the Storm” takes us back to the Hialeah of 1963 where the family’s matriarch, Esperanza Lopez, has lost all hope. Reliant upon her cruel husband since they left Cuba, it pains her not to see her two boys (Lazarito and Manolito) thriving. She fears challenging her spouse’s rage and controlling ways will only lead to heartache and despair. As Hurricane Mirtha rips through everything they know, Lazarito’s mother faces leaving behind a dark truth. Will she be able to tear it from the recesses of her mind? Or will it crush her and her family too. Split by time, but bound by blood, can a family find the strength to heal from tragedy? Only the rain can wash away their sins. Only their souls can free them from their shackles.
“Eye of the Storm” is a work of literary fiction, a family saga spanning six decades. It moves back and forth in time chronicling the lives of an unforgettable Cuban family, particularly a mother and her son. From Hialeah to Havana and from Little Havana and Opa-Locka, Florida to Rome and Venice, Italy, they seek answers to questions that haunt them. They confront overwhelming crises including sexual abuse, domestic violence, mental illness and homicide, but in each case, they rise above their circumstances. Theirs is a triumph of hope over fear. If you’re intrigued by riveting family sagas, layered stories, and age-old mystical traditions such as Santeria, this debut novel by the author of “Cuban Son Rising” will captivate you.
What is it that the eye of the storm sees that no one else perceives?
