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In this searching memoir, home is elusive. Hala lived in a number of Middle Eastern countries before her parents settled in America. She was a rebellious teenager who got into addiction. She has a complicated marriage and a baby on the way, carried by a surrogate. In short, evocative segments, the book dips into her history and her reflections on the burgeoning but distant pregnancy. Some are far-ranging, others deeply intimate, but all reflect her candor and poetic sensibility.
The protagonist starts out at a grim juncture, poised on the Golden Gate Bridge to end it all. Her husband and son have been killed in an accident and there’s nothing left for her. But life force kicks in and instead, she sets out letting instinct and buses lead her to an unnamed country in Central America. In a small, obscure hotel called La Llorona, her destiny plays out. She connects well with Leila, the American proprietor, and they form a considerable bond. Over the village looms an active volcano that provides lots of drama. This is a powerful yarn, and I mean that in the best sense—it’s very engaging and launched me on a satisfying read which I’m especially hungry for these days.
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