FICTION

The Heart Has Its Reasons

Atria. Nov. 2014. 372p. tr. from Spanish by Elie Kerrigan. ISBN 9781451668339. $26; ebk. ISBN 9781451668360. F
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The author of the best-selling The Time in Between captures her readers again with a novel that crosses decades and continents to trace and connect past and present lives. Looking to escape memories of a shattered marriage, Blanca Perea flees her home in Spain to take a visiting professor position in California. She is tasked with compiling and classifying the papers of the late Spanish writer and academic Andres Fontana. Initially, Blanca's only interest is to forget her heartbreak, but she quickly becomes immersed in her subject as the collection's depth reveals clues to a past never before known. As Fontana's legacy unravels, additional stories and characters are brought to light, and Blanca's job takes on more meaning than she had ever imagined. In the end, the past and present come together in a climactic sequence of events.
VERDICT In a novel that is raw with emotion, Dueñas weaves her story line deftly back and forth through time. Historical fiction fans will appreciate the rich Spanish detail; saga lovers will also enjoy the parallel stories that unfold and come together. [See Prepub Alert, 5/12/14; an 11-city tour.]
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