A TODAY Show Read With Jenna Book Club Pick!
A powerful novel about the construction of the Panama Canal, casting light on the unsung people who lived, loved, and labored there
It is said that the canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. But first, it must be built. For Francisco, a local fisherman who resents the foreign powers clamoring for a slice of his country, nothing is more upsetting than the decision of his son, Omar, to work as a digger in the excavation zone. But for Omar, whose upbringing was quiet and lonely, this job offers a chance to finally find connection.
Ada Bunting is a bold sixteen-year-old from Barbados who arrives in Panama as a stowaway alongside thousands of other West Indians seeking work. Alone and with no resources, she is determined to find a job that will earn enough money for her ailing sister's surgery. When she sees a young man—Omar—who has collapsed after a grueling shift, she is the only one who rushes to his aid.
John Oswald has dedicated his life to scientific research and has journeyed to Panama in single-minded pursuit of one goal: eliminating malaria. But now, his wife, Marian, has fallen ill herself, and when he witnesses Ada's bravery and compassion, he hires her on the spot as a caregiver. This fateful decision sets in motion a sweeping tale of ambition, loyalty, and sacrifice.
Searing and empathetic,The Great Divide explores the intersecting lives of activists, fishmongers, laborers, journalists, neighbors, doctors, and soothsayers—those rarely acknowledged by history even as they carved out its course.
Named a Most Anticipated Book By: Washington Post * Book Riot * Electric Literature * LitHub * ELLE * The Millions * Goodreads * Reader's Digest
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
A TODAY Show Read With Jenna Book Club Pick!
A powerful novel about the construction of the Panama Canal, casting light on the unsung people who lived, loved, and labored there
It is said that the canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. But first, it must be built. For Francisco, a local fisherman who resents the foreign powers clamoring for a slice of his country, nothing is more upsetting than the decision of his son, Omar, to work as a digger in the excavation zone. But for Omar, whose upbringing was quiet and lonely, this job offers a chance to finally find connection.
Ada Bunting is a bold sixteen-year-old from Barbados who arrives in Panama as a stowaway alongside thousands of other West Indians seeking work. Alone and with no resources, she is determined to find a job that will earn enough money for her ailing sister's surgery. When she sees a young man—Omar—who has collapsed after a grueling shift, she is the only one who rushes to his aid.
John Oswald has dedicated his life to scientific research and has journeyed to Panama in single-minded pursuit of one goal: eliminating malaria. But now, his wife, Marian, has fallen ill herself, and when he witnesses Ada's bravery and compassion, he hires her on the spot as a caregiver. This fateful decision sets in motion a sweeping tale of ambition, loyalty, and sacrifice.
Searing and empathetic,The Great Divide explores the intersecting lives of activists, fishmongers, laborers, journalists, neighbors, doctors, and soothsayers—those rarely acknowledged by history even as they carved out its course.
Named a Most Anticipated Book By: Washington Post * Book Riot * Electric Literature * LitHub * ELLE * The Millions * Goodreads * Reader's Digest
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
Critiques-
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Starred review from October 23, 2023
The enthralling latest from Henríquez (The Book of Unknown Americans) tells the stories of migrant laborers, locals, and others affected by the Panama Canal project in 1907. Born and bred in Panama City, Francisco Aquino is a proud fisherman. His headstrong teenage son Omar yearns for more than his father’s predictable life at sea, however, and gets hired at Culebra Cut, a notoriously difficult labor site, where he works to dig the canal alongside Barbadians, Jamaicans, and Haitians. Francisco, who calls the Americans “enemy invaders” for building the canal and harbors resentment over U.S. intervention in Panama’s 1903 separatist movement, disapproves. There’s also 16-year-old Ada Bunting, who arrives from Barbados to work as a washer woman so she can send money to help her sister, who has pneumonia. Her story is linked with that of Tennessee scientist John Oswald, who comes to Panama to study tropical diseases with his wife Marian, who contracts pneumonia and is cared for by Ada. Meanwhile, the residents of the southern town of Gatun learn that their community has been earmarked as the site of the canal’s dam. The author delves deeply into themes of colonialism and labor exploitation, showing how the men take quinine daily to ward off tropical diseases while an American foreman rules over their worksite with an iron fist. Henríquez’s pitch-perfect novel has the feel of a classic. -
Golden Voice narrator Robin Miles's evocative performance of Cristina Henr�quez's novel about the building of the Panama Canal takes its time, which feels right for a book with many threads. Set midway through the canal's multi year construction, the plot follows several central characters as they navigate personal dramas and canal-related crises. Miles's lovely, warm voice illuminates the action by adopting varied accents and wildly different personalities. Sixteen-year-old Asa from Barbados wants to earn money for a sister's operation; local fisherman Francisco hates the foreign-owned canal, where his son Omar wields a pickax; Tennessee scientist John is intent on eradicating malaria while his neglected wife battles the illness. These and many other stories intertwine in this moving and deeply researched tale. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
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June 1, 2024
In her much-anticipated latest, Henr�quez (The Book of Unknown Americans) illuminates the people whose labor, homes, and lives were consumed to bring the Panama Canal into being. Narrator Robin Miles gives voice to Henr�quez's panoply of characters, employing careful shifts in accent and tone to craft distinct, well-rounded characters. Listeners will encounter 16-year-old Ada Bunting, who has traveled from Barbados to earn money for her sister's medical care; 17-year-old Omar Aquino, who comes face-to-face with the brutal work site conditions; remote John Oswald, a malaria researcher who is passionate about eradicating malaria but can't connect to his wife; and the residents of the Panamanian town Gat�n, who protest at having their land devoured by the canal's implacable progress. Miles taps into the emotional center of Henr�quez's story, using small hesitations and carefully placed emphases to communicate the desperate desire of a father to reconcile with his son, the regret of a man who knows he has failed his wife, and the grinding worry shared by a mother and daughter for a desperately ill young woman. VERDICT Henr�quez's many fans and readers of historical fiction will be enthralled by this affecting and thoughtfully narrated novel.--Sarah Hashimoto
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
