About the Author

Nelly Rosario was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Brooklyn, where she now lives. She received a B.A. in engineering from MIT and an M.F.A. in fiction writing from Columbia University. She was named a “Writer on the Verge” by the Village Voice Literary Supplement in 2001. Song of the Water Saints won the 2002 Pen Open Book Award.

Reviews

"Nelly Rosario's debut novel stands out . . . for its joyously profane wit and plainspoken, unforced poetry."--San Francisco Chronicle

“[A] transporting tale . . . vigorous, evocative prose...” –The Miami Herald

“Written in spare, penetrating language...exuberantly paced, sexy...” –The Village Voice

"Like Julia Alvarez's [first] novel, Song of the Water Saints explores what families pass down, and what they toss aside." –The Denver Post

"Rosario's writing is lively and rich with emotion throughout .... it is impossible not to be moved."—The Washington Post Book World

“An electrifying debut. Powerfully written, meticulously imagined, and arresting to its core, Nelly Rosario’s novel is a flame for the mind and heart, the sort you are endlessly grateful for.” –Junot Díaz, author of Drown

“Effortlessly intermingles three generations of women, dropping unadorned dialogue amid spare and lovely prose.” –Entertainment Weekly

“Rosario does an excellent job conjuring the colorful, vibrant scenes of Caribbean life.” –Los Angeles Times

“Every small scene that Nelly Rosario writes reaches toward a larger truth out in the world, and also a smaller, more intimate truth. . . . There is a physicality in the language that speaks of an angry, human spirituality and the struggle to be alive.” –The Oregonian

“Lush and assured . . . each brief chapter reads like a snapshot of a soul.” –Time Out New York

“Like a Caribbean Scheherazade, Rosario casts a spell on her readers with this saga of three generations of Dominican women whose yearning becomes our own. What they want and what we get reading Song of the Water Saints is a sense of luminous world, complex and layered, full of passion and adventure.” –Julia Alvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies

“Rosario’s dialogue deftly approximates the rhythm of Dominican Spanish. . . . The effect are, by turns, bawdy and hilarious, a kind of verbal jousting.” –Minneapolis Star Tribune

“A gorgeous first novel, epic and poetic.” –Edwidge Danticat, author of Breath, Eyes, Memory

“Poetic without being flowery and overstated . . . raw realism and strong character portrayal.” –Mosaic

“A richly textured novel, in which gleaming, perfectly sketched images are vividly juxtaposed with gritty reality.” –Dominican Times

"Nelly Rosario's debut novel stands out . . . for its joyously profane wit and plainspoken, unforced poetry."--San Francisco Chronicle

"[A] transporting tale . . . vigorous, evocative prose..." -The Miami Herald

"Written in spare, penetrating language...exuberantly paced, sexy..." -The Village Voice

"Like Julia Alvarez's [first] novel, Song of the Water Saints explores what families pass down, and what they toss aside." -The Denver Post

"Rosario's writing is lively and rich with emotion throughout .... it is impossible not to be moved."-The Washington Post Book World

"An electrifying debut. Powerfully written, meticulously imagined, and arresting to its core, Nelly Rosario's novel is a flame for the mind and heart, the sort you are endlessly grateful for." -Junot Diaz, author of Drown

"Effortlessly intermingles three generations of women, dropping unadorned dialogue amid spare and lovely prose." -Entertainment Weekly

"Rosario does an excellent job conjuring the colorful, vibrant scenes of Caribbean life." -Los Angeles Times

"Every small scene that Nelly Rosario writes reaches toward a larger truth out in the world, and also a smaller, more intimate truth. . . . There is a physicality in the language that speaks of an angry, human spirituality and the struggle to be alive." -The Oregonian

"Lush and assured . . . each brief chapter reads like a snapshot of a soul." -Time Out New York

"Like a Caribbean Scheherazade, Rosario casts a spell on her readers with this saga of three generations of Dominican women whose yearning becomes our own. What they want and what we get reading Song of the Water Saints is a sense of luminous world, complex and layered, full of passion and adventure." -Julia Alvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies

"Rosario's dialogue deftly approximates the rhythm of Dominican Spanish. . . . The effect are, by turns, bawdy and hilarious, a kind of verbal jousting." -Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A gorgeous first novel, epic and poetic." -Edwidge Danticat, author of Breath, Eyes, Memory

"Poetic without being flowery and overstated . . . raw realism and strong character portrayal." -Mosaic

"A richly textured novel, in which gleaming, perfectly sketched images are vividly juxtaposed with gritty reality." -Dominican Times

In her debut novel, Rosario tells the story of four generations of women in the Dominican Republic within the context of nearly a century of that country's history. It begins with 12-year-old Graciela, who is madly in love with the slightly older Silvio during the early years of what is described as a brutal American occupation, and ends with her 12-year-old great-granddaughter, who lives in New York City and is facing many of the same conflicts that Graciela did. Graciela's child, grandchildren, and great-grandchild adapt to the changing political situations of their country and seek to bring order and meaning to their lives in their own ways. Each woman is baffled by her child, and each child rebels against what she sees as the excesses of her parent. Named a Writer on the Verge by the Voice Literary Supplement, Rosario gracefully depicts a living and breathing community of individuals who work hard and fight to endure, who offer support and sympathy but also seek to undermine and destroy one another. In this absorbing tale, Rosario suggests that despite the suffocating effects of a harsh and bitter reality, love and hope can survive and perhaps thrive. Highly recommended for large public and all academic libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/01.] Rebecca Stuhr, Grinnell Coll. Libs., IA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.