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For lovers of Elizabeth Acevedo and Angie Cruz comes this extraordinary novel, the first ever written by a Uruguayan–Australian author. The power of Hailstones Fell without Rain lies in its pacy, multi-generational story and its memorable, wise and sharply funny characters.
Graciela is a Uruguayan migrant struggling to raise her three daughters in Western Sydney: her life feels like just one bill after another, and she’s reaching breaking point. Chula, her elderly aunt, is still waiting for justice after living through the civic-military coup of 1973 in Uruguay. And Rita, Graciela’s eldest daughter, wants to escape the constraints of her family but finds herself indelibly tied to the ghosts of her mother’s past.
Dazzling, multilayered and often laugh-out-loud funny, Hailstones Fell without Rain tells the story of these three indomitable women from one working-class family. As the novel moves across time and place, from Western Sydney to Uruguay and back again, we realise that buried secrets and family trauma always, ultimately, resurface but also that it’s possible for broken connections to mend.
Author:
‘In this intergenerational novel, Figueroa Barroso renders a captivating story of womanhood, the immigrant experience and state-sponsored violence. Spanning half a century, and half the globe, Hailstones Fell without Rain toggles between situating readers in momentous world events and intimate moments within this particular family to craft a dazzling narrative.’ Elizabeth Acevedo, New York Times bestselling author
‘A timeless tale of love, sisterhood, and the struggles and triumphs of immigrants that simply sizzles off the page. With her trademark wit, lyricism and cultural depth, Natalia Figueroa Barroso brings to life these three unforgettable women, and confirms her place as an important voice of the Uruguayan–Australian experience.’ Sara M Saleh