The Last Karankawas The Last Karankawas

The Last Karankawas

A Novel

    • 3.4 • 5 Ratings
    • $9.99
    • $9.99

Publisher Description

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice An Indie Next Pick Named a Most Anticipated and Must-Read Book by BuzzFeed, Book Riot, and Ms. MagazineOne of Washington Independent Review of Books' Favorite Books of 2022

"Vivid . . . Garza's accomplished debut enriches the public imagination of this corner of America, and the communities within." —Melissa Chadburn, The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)


A blazing and kaleidoscopic debut about a tight-knit community of Mexican and Filipino American families on the Texas coast from a voice you won't soon forget.

Welcome to Galveston, Texas. Population 50,241.

Carly Castillo has only ever known Galveston. Her grandmother Magdalena claims that they descend from the Karankawas, an extinct indigenous Texan tribe, thereby tethering them to the land. Meanwhile, her boyfriend and all-star shortstop turned seaman, Jess, treasures the salty, familiar air. He’s gotten chances to leave for bigger cities, but he didn’t take them then and he sure as hell won’t now. When word spreads of a storm gathering strength offshore known as Hurricane Ike, each Galveston resident must make a difficult decision: board up the windows and hunker down or flee inland and abandon their hard-won homes.

Moving through the extraordinary lives of these characters and the many individuals who circle them, The Last Karankawas weaves together a multitude of voices to present a lyrical, emotionally charged portrait of everyday survival. The result is an unforgettable exploration of familial inheritance, human resilience, and the histories we assign to ourselves.

GENRE
Fiction & Literature
RELEASED
2022
August 9
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
288
Pages
PUBLISHER
Henry Holt and Co.
SELLER
Macmillan
SIZE
3.4
MB

Customer Reviews

kensib1 ,

My favorite book of the year

The Last Karankawas was one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year. The author, Kimberly Garza did a reading at my university several months ago and I loved the concept of her novel when she explained it and just loved it even more when she started reading to us, I knew that I wanted to read the whole book when she was finished with her reading.

This book is made up essentially of short stories about the people in the Galveston, TX area and their experiences, particularly their experiences as they prepare for Hurricane Ike. Each chapter could be a stand-alone short story from the perspective of a different member of this community, but all of the stories combined gives the readers a more complete understanding of this community and the people who live in it.

For readers who like more action and a clearer line throughout a book, this may not be the novel for you. However, this book paints such an incredible picture of the people of Galveston and their unique experiences. I loved the human element to this story and the fact that everyday experiences for these characters created the story rather than some huge, unrealistic threat that had to be defeated.

One thing that I particularly loved about this book was the different voices that could be seen in each of the characters. While you could still recognize Kimberly’s writing style, each character had their own distinct voice and unique story that made the book so interesting and diverse.

The Last Karankawas was an absolutely incredible novel, I could not recommend it enough.

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