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THE THREE MARIAS by Donna Darling

THE THREE MARIAS

Book One: Puerto Rico

by Donna Darling

Pub Date: Oct. 29th, 2022
ISBN: 9798849889726
Publisher: Self

Darling offers a family and political drama set in turn-of-the-20th-century Puerto Rico.

This historical novel subjects teenager Maria Josefina, nicknamed Fina, to constant political and personal turmoil over the five years the story covers, from 1895 to 1900. Puerto Rico is a colony of Spain, and the sons of participants in a failed 1868 revolt are agitating for a chance to finish what their fathers started. While they plan, Spanish loyalists are carrying out vigilante attacks against the revolutionaries’ families. When American soldiers arrive in 1898, they defeat the Spanish army but fail to bring peace to the beautiful but turbulent island. Fina experiences a personal tragedy due to the actions of marauding bands, and her father loses his coffee farm due to his drinking and gambling problems. Much older neighbor Dino Cesari negotiates a deal to marry Fina’s eldest sister, Martina, and the two remaining daughters move into her well-guarded new home. There, Fina falls in love with revolutionary Jorge Cesari; her newfound stability crumbles after his revolutionary group unsuccessfully attacks a nearby Spanish garrison and her lover is forced to flee the island. After a tragedy, Fina’s sister faces the wrath of her in-laws. The siblings’ circumstances don’t improve with the arrival of the Americans and worsen further after a hurricane. Over the course of this novel, Darling effectively weaves together tales of political and personal turmoil. She also uses Fina’s rather innocent perspective to allow readers to experience raw emotions: fear, bewilderment, and loss but also love and hope. (Most of the text is narrated by Fina, but occasional chapters are told from an omniscient third-person perspective, which can be jarring.) Darling effectively demonstrates the complexity of the history underpinning the story as Taino, Spanish, and Corsican characters fight over the future of the island. Rich descriptions of the environment and culture soften the effect of some of the more violent moments.

A taut and often compelling novel of the Spanish American War.