In “The Taste of Sugar” (Flatiron), novelist Marisel Vera (author of “If I Bring You Roses”) has written a story of a small coffee farm in late 19th century Puerto Rico, an island hard-hit by war, natural disaster and social upheaval, and how the promise of a better life draws the farm’s owners, and thousands of laborers, to the sugar plantations of Hawaii. Read an excerpt below: Prologue Once Upon a Time on the Island of Puerto Rico In 1825, on the journey to Utuado to buy land, Vicente’s grandfather, Don Luis Manuel Vega, saw what he thought were piles of rubbish along the side of the road. But as his carriage drew nearer, the rubbish became rows of people— men, women, and children— passed out in a faint. When he stopped for supplies with his black slave Benedicto, Luis Manuel Vega learned that these poor souls were among los hambrientos, the starving, who had left the villages and countryside for the city of Ponce to beg for bread. Luis Manuel Vega felt sorry for the hungry people, but quickly turned his attention to the variety of goods at the market; it seemed everything was sold en la plaza, including… Read full this story
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Book excerpt: "The Taste of Sugar" by Marisel Vera have 317 words, post on www.cbsnews.com at July 5, 2020. This is cached page on CuBird. If you want remove this page, please contact us.