Description:
Written over a span of twenty-seven years, and now being published in close succession, The Caribbean Trilogy depicts an eccentric cast of characters in a lush tropical setting. Despite her travels throughout the world, Chiara marvels at the island of Canuba, where 'magic realism is everyday life.' Presented on a three-level stage, Return to Dawn recounts the eventful lives of the musician and agronomist Alfonso, the devious politician Ángel María, and the 'failed saint' Gustavo. In the end, only Chiara and the mysterious mambo Diana find the courage to surmount the darker side of paradise.
Brief description: Frank Báez has published eight books of poetry, as well as fiction and non-fiction works. In 2006, he received the Short Stories Prize of the Santo Domingo International Book Fair for You'll Have to Pay the Shrinks Yourself; and in 2007, the Salomé Ureña National Poetry Prize for Postales. He was selected for the Hay Festival in 2017 as a member of Bogota 39, the best Latin American writers under forty. From 2023 to 2024 he was a Mellon High Impact Scholar, at the University of Texas at Austin. His latest books include What the Sea Brought Ashore, Dismantling My Father's Library, and The End of the World Came to My 'Hood.
Review Quotes:
Praise for Sailing to Noon, the first volume of The Caribbean Trilogy, winner of the 2025 Independent Press Award for Hispanic/Latin Fiction:
'Rich and multifarious, Sailing to Noon has enormous vitality and texture: it is a big performance-the epic myth of Canuba.'
-Jonathan Galassi
'I really felt this novel: I entered its geography, saw and smelled and moved in it, which is a tribute to its vivid intimacy.'
-Siri Hustvedt
'You should put this book in a tightly sealed drawer; otherwise, it's so alive it might run away.'
-Edmund White
Praise for Midnight at Sea, the second volume of The Caribbean Trilogy, the joint recipient with Return to Dawn of the 2026 Independent Press Award for Hispanic/Latin Fiction:
'By the time the rollicking conclusion arrives, it's evident there are many more tales to tell of this island: Canuba becomes a character in and of itself. Rogers employs satire, sex, and drama in wondrous ways.'
-Kirkus Reviews