An Interview with Angie Cruz Angie Cruz’s third novel, Dominicana, is an evocative, commanding story that digs into the universal themes of immigration, love, war, and family through a specific, voice-driven lens. Ana Canción, our narrator, is a 15-year-old girl in the Dominican countryside who marries and immigrates to Washington Heights, NYC in 1965 in the hopes of one day creating a better life for her family back home. Ana’s tender, raw voice is distinctive and full of pathos. As she struggles with abuse, the pressures of enduring for one’s family, her ambivalence about motherhood, and a growing attraction to another man, Cruz also illuminates the larger machinations of our world—from the Dominican Civil War to Malcolm X’s death to the competitive tensions between different immigrant groups in New York City. Dominicana, out on September 3, has already been on ‘most anticipated’ lists of The New York Times, Time, Buzzfeed, and The Washington Post for good reason. This is a powerful and compelling novel. Angie and I discussed many topics, ranging from our intended audiences as writers of color, ‘breaking the rules’ of structure and perspective, motherhood, and whether writing ever gets any easier. Her answers were wise and resonated... Read More