Coconuts for the Saint [Hardcover]

Debra Spark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 1994

A young woman is drawn into a love affair with an enigmatic widower who has triplet daughters and learns about fate and identity, human understanding, and the role love plays in the formation of character.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Spark, author of a previous short-story collection not published here and editor of the innovative compilation Twenty Under Thirty (1986), offers an excellent debut novel that examines the nature of love, the power of family and the inexorable pull of the past. In 1977, Maria Elena is 35 and single, living in self-imposed exile in San Juan. She meets the man of her dreams when she faints on the doorstep of a bakery and is assisted by Sandrofo, the shop's proprietor. But the quiet, taciturn baker comes with lots of baggage: three daughters who are identical triplets; the ghost of his late wife, who died during childbirth; a sordid and hidden past. Spark deftly tracks the gentle courtship and new relationship, primarily through Maria Elena's voice but also from the perspectives of Sandrofo and his daughters. The subplot involving the influence of the past is equally well-wrought as one sister predicts imminent disaster when the family moves into a hacienda with a tragic history. Other material reflects minor first-novel flaws, particularly a flashback into the 18th century and ongoing episodes of unrequited love regarding a local layabout who falls for the middle sister. Overall, though, the emotional material is remarkably accomplished, and Spark uses her intricate, multilayered structure to deliver a myriad of entertaining scenes and marvelous insights.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Portions of this occasionally well-written but ultimately disappointing hodgepodge of a first novel appeared as short stories in various magazines. Unfortunately, the pieces haven't been successfully unified into a whole. Sandrofo Lucero, a widower whose wife died giving birth to triplets, comes to Puerto Rico in 1968 to run a bakery. He falls in love with Maria Elena, who is determined to discover the secrets of his past. Maria Elena realizes that she will have to listen to the stories of Tata, Melone, and Beatriz before she can hope to understand their father. Maria Elena is the sole character to emerge as more than a one-dimensional construct. The voices of the daughters are indistinguishable from one another, and there is simply not enough character development for the reader to care what Sandrofo's background is. Not recommended.
Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, Seattle
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 283 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber; First Edition edition (October 14, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571198465
• ISBN-13: 978-0571198467
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,267,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Average, January 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Coconuts for the Saint (Hardcover)

There was nothing wrong with this book, although I feel like I've read it before. Same family saga searching for the past, same precious writing. The puerto Rican segments make it a little more interesting, but not by much.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommend this rich novel., February 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Coconuts for the Saint (Hardcover)

I first read Coconuts for the Saint about four years ago and loved its magical qualities, well-developed characters, and unique story. About a month ago, I decided to read it again after remembering how I enjoyed it years before. I was not disappointed. Spark's writing involves you in the story throughout the book so much that it will be hard to put it down. The reader is allowed into the lives of a variety of characters in the lush world of a Puerto Rico bakery, where people are as wonderful and flawed as those in the real world. There is something almost musical about this novel in the way that the people and events flow and interact with one another. I highly recommend this book.