The Grand Paloma Resort by Cleyvis Natera (Neruda on the Park) is a novel of race, class, secrets, and striving, set within a luxury resort staffed by struggling locals amid the natural beauty of the Dominican Republic.
Laura has been her sister Elena's caretaker since they were 14 and four years old when their mother died. The Grand Paloma has been Laura's career and lifeline. But Elena persists, in Laura's eyes, in slacking, taking Ecstasy and partying while working as a babysitter at the resort. In the novel's opening pages, a young child in Elena's care--from a family of great wealth and privilege--has been badly injured. It falls to Laura, yet again, to clean up: Elena must be protected from criminal charges, and the resort from bad press.
But this time, despite Laura's experience in saving the day, a bad situation spirals. Elena thinks she sees a way out by accepting a large sum of money from a tourist in exchange for giving him access to two young local girls. Although she initially believes the girls won't come to harm, the crisis worsens when the children go missing. All of that coincides with an approaching category-five hurricane. A larger cast of already marginalized resort employees are endangered in a ripple effect, and Laura's career is at risk.
Natera deftly splices into this narrative the history of the Dominican Republic and the plight of Haitian workers. With a propulsively paced plot and heart-racingly high stakes, The Grand Paloma Resort interrogates capitalism and exploitation through a community's concern for two little girls. The result is exhilarating, entertaining, and thought-provoking. --Julia Kastner, blogger at pagesofjulia