Summary

The novel opens in the Dominican Republic in the early 1960s. The protagonist and narrator—Ana Cancion—is 11 years old at this point. She lives with her family in a fairly rural town. One day, a man in his thirties named Juan Ruiz proposed marriage to her. She could not want to accept (due to her age), nor did she want to accept. However, Ana’s parents grew hopeful, as Juan and his brothers had managed to acquire a moderate amount of wealth. Juan and his brothers own/operate a restaurant. Ana’s parents hoped that Juan would propose to Ana again in the future. Meanwhile, Ana’s older sister, Teresa, fell in love with a young man and became pregnant by him. Teresa and the man were in love and planned to marry. Teresa was happy, but her mother said that Teresa had...