A Place Where the Sea Remembers
A novel by Sandra Benitez

Winner, Discover Great New Writers Award

Winner, Minnesota Book Award for Fiction

"A quietly stunning work that leaves soft tracks in the heart." - The Washington Post Book World

"Ms. Benitez’ novel certainly merits placement beside some of the mesmerizing new literature with its roots in Latin America." - The New York Times Book Review

"A contemporary but universal tragedy which resounds with a sense of hope. Sandra Benitez sketches rich and complex portraits of the people who inhabit this Mexican Village by the sea. . . . This cast of characters has haunted me since I read the book. I recommend it highly." - Rudolfo Anaya

"Sandra Benitez’ world is poignant, passionate, bittersweet. There are no small lives. Her characters are magnificent, merciful, soul-rooted creatures clinging to the shore." - Denise Chavez

"A vivid, graceful, tautly constructed work of fiction that succeeds on numerous artistic levels. Sandra Benitez has clearly put her heart into this book, and I’m confident that the reader will feel the emotional grip of a splendid new storyteller." - Tim O’Brien

Chayo, the flower-seller, and her husband Candelario, the salad-maker, may finally be blessed with the child they thought they would never have. But their cause for happiness triggers a series of events that ends in a tragedy that touches everyone in the village. A Place Where the Sea Remembers is a tribute to the people whose unexpected and disregarded stories make up the fabric of life in small towns everywhere. The flower-seller, the village photographer, the people who spend their days bartering with tourists on the beach - through their dreams and small successes, failures and shortcomings, Benitez paints a picture of life that is both a universal portrait and an insider’s look at living in Latin America.

Sandra Benitez has spent her life moving between the Latin American culture of her Puerto Rican mother and the Anglo-American culture of her father. After growing up in Mexico, El Salvador, and Missouri, she now makes her home in Edina, Minnesota. Benitez’s work has appeared in anthologies and journals, and she is the recipient of several awards and honors for her writing. A Place Where the Sea Remembers is her first book.

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