Fuku vs. Zafa

A major theme in the novel deals with the question: Are the things that happen to the various members of the Cabral family and its descendants the result of fuku, a curse, or zafa, a blessing or counterspell? It is a common belief in Santo Domingo that Abelard brought the curse upon the family when he refused to let Trujillo have his way with his daughter, Jacquelyn. The people of that time believed that if he put his mind to it Trujillo could put a curse on a family that could last through as many as seven generations. The question remains whether the things that happen to the family are because of this supposed curse.

Although Oscar has heard about the family curse and even uses it as the excuse for why he tried to kill himself while he was in college, he doesn...