Book description
A chronicle of the Melanguez family's life in Puerto Rico, their move to New York City, and their efforts to make a life in America includes the narrator's determination to succeed on his own
Why read it?
1 author picked Family Installments as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Rivera’s only major work, Family Installments has influenced many Latinx writers, including Junot Diaz. Published in 1982, it was one of the earliest novels capturing the diasporican experience of the Great Migration in the 1950s. Rivera’s protagonist, Santos Malánguez, narrates his family’s journey from Puerto Rico to New York in great detail, often with sharp insight and humor. As a young aspiring writer, I identified with Santos, especially as he found, in reading and books, solace from a dreary life of struggle. No other book depicts diasporican life so richly and comprehensively—from harsh rural life on the island to tenement…
From J.L.'s list on The best books by writers of the Puerto Rican diaspora.
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