Who would have thought the story of a fifteen year old girl who moves from the Dominican Republic to the United States in 1965 is exactly what I wanted and needed to read right now? Over the past several months I've been desperate to lose myself in some really good stories to temporarily avoid the difficult reality we're living through. It's such a blissful relief from the chaos and the magic of a great novel is discovering new love for a character I never could have imagined. “Dominicana” is a novel that swept me up in the immediacy of its story of young Ana Canción whose family pressure her to marry Juan, a man over twice her age. He brings her to New York City even though it was never her dream to live in America. Her family see this pairing as part of a strategic plan for them to eventually move to America as well. Juan and his brothers also seek their own benefits from this match. There's such an intense pressure built into this transactional marriage that made me whole-heartedly feel for Ana's difficult position where she essentially becomes a prisoner in a dank 6th floor apartment in Washington Heights. But I also revelled in the joys and passion she unexpectedly discovers in her accelerated maturity and as she gradually discovers what she truly wants in life. Angie Cruz evokes the intense feeling of this perilous coming-of-age tale with evocative detail.
I enjoyed how as Ana immerses herself in American culture she begins to imitate and parody it. So after watching 'I Love Lucy' or 'The Sound of Music' she incorporates herself into their narratives in a way which playfully undermines their idyllic images. Equally, on a trip to the World's Fair she becomes aware that she must present an exaggerated image of her own culture in order to sell pastelitos to the American public. She also becomes aware of all the distinct ethnic neighbourhoods in the city and the stereotypes that develop alongside them which are perpetuated by Juan, but when she actually begins talking to different people those stereotypes are dispelled. I also thought it was moving how Ana naturally dreams of being saved by a knight in shining armour, but learns she needs to rely on herself as an independent woman to achieve what she really wants in life. Although both Juan and Ana's mother place unfair expectations upon Ana and take advantage of her, Cruz is careful to show how they are also subjected to pressures placed upon them. This certainly doesn't justify their actions, but it shows how they are all caught in a system which perpetuates different forms of oppression. There are also larger shifts happening in both America and the Dominican Republic which Ana is only slightly aware of but these are delicately incorporated into the background of the story. However, Ana is really at the heart of this novel and I was glad to be fully drawn into her solitary existence.
