THE WAVES TAKE YOU HOME by María Alejandra Barrios Vélez
(Available for pre-order)
In this heartfelt story about how the places we run from hold the answers to our deepest challenges, the death of her grandmother brings a young woman home. There she must face the past in order to become the heir of not just the family restaurant, but her own destiny.
Inspired by the resilience and strength of the women in her family and Barranquilla, Colombia, the Caribbean city in which she spent most of her life, María Alejandra Barrios Vélez has written a tender and emotional debut novel, THE WAVES TAKE YOU HOME (Lake Union; March 19, 2024) about the unbreakable bonds of three generations of women, the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters and the circumstances that call us home. From the unforgettable characters and bustling setting to the gripping love story and mouthwatering descriptions of local delicacies, THE WAVES TAKE YOU HOME will draw you in and keep you hooked.
Ten years after she immigrated to the United States, twenty-eight-year-old Violeta Sanoguera goes home to Barranquilla, Colombia at the news of her grandmother’s death. Her grandmother was the one who insisted Violeta leave in the first place – to escape a love she didn’t approve, to avoid making the same mistakes she did, and to pursue a better life. But now Violeta learns she’s inherited Caminito, their failing family restaurant.
Violeta resolves to honor these final wishes and stay—long enough, at least, to save Caminito. Accompanied at all times by the ghost of her grandmother who reminds her of the choices she’s made and the ones that lie ahead, Violeta embarks on a journey that leads her to rediscover her home, her mother and grandmother, and the flame of an old love. She tastes food and experiences sensations not felt in years and uncovers deeply kept family secrets written in the pages of her grandmother’s journal and begins to question everything.
THE WAVES TAKE YOU HOME is a novel from an exciting new voice that sheds light on how our ancestors shape our lives, food as memory, and facing the past in order to build a life that’s truly your own. A novel that will dare you to choose boldly, all while making you crave a slice of pineapple rum- upside down cake or a steaming plate of paella.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
María Alejandra Barrios Vélez is a writer born in Barranquilla, Colombia. She has an MA in creative writing from the University of Manchester and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and scruffy dog, Gus.
She was the 2020 SmokeLong Flash Fiction Fellow, and her stories have been published in Shenandoah Literary, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, El Malpensante, Fractured Lit, SmokeLong Quarterly, The Offing, and more. Her work has been supported by organizations such as Vermont Studio Center, Caldera Arts, and the New Orleans Writers’
