The Storyteller’s Death by Ann Dávila Cardinal, her debut into adult fiction, follows the life Isla Larsen Sanchez and her family. When Isla’s father passes away, she finds herself spending the summers in Puerto Rico with her great aunt, while her mother stays home. Set against the ever-shifting background of New Jersey and Puerto Rico, Isla struggles with her family, both immediate and extended, on top of her own questions of self and her cultural identity.
Isla lives a dual life: one with her mother in New Jersey and one with her great-aunt and other extended family in Puerto Rico. The two lives almost never intersect, as Isla’s mother hasn’t joined her since her father past. As Isla grows up, she feels like an outsider no matter where she is, until she turns eighteen when her grandmother passes away. Isla’s Is visited by her grandmother, a gifted storyteller, through a vision of the last story her grandmother told her.
As Isla experiences more deaths of her extended family, she continues to be visited by the ghosts of past Sanchez cuentistas, her family’s storytellers. Isla believes the stories are a gift that connects her to her family in a way that she had never been before. But when someone close to Isla passes away, they leave her with a vision of an old murder mystery, one that could kill Isla if she is not careful. What were once harmless stories giving Isla a look into the lives of her family suddenly force Isla to investigate her family’s past in ways that have been buried for years.
The Storyteller’s Death, a historical mystery, takes the reader on the lifelong journey of Isla. Through Isla, the reader can see the way generational trauma, rooted prejudice, and family secrets can taint even the most well-meaning families. Cardinal tackles many difficult themes throughout this novel, including but not limited to classism and personal identification within a cultural, in breathtaking prose that truly allow the reader to reflect on their own life and family history.
Throughout this book, despite the troubles and secrets that the Sanchez family faced there was a deep sense of love and understanding. Through small acts like buying ice cream together or larger displays of love like taking your great-niece in ever summer, the Sanchez loves each other to a fault. This story reminds us that to love intensely most be vulnerable as it is protective. Family must challenge the generational missteps to continue to heal and grow for the better. This book was a beautiful reading experience from its elegant prose to its display of mystery and magical realism, down to its beautiful depiction of familial growth from a place of love and care. For readers who want something different this book has truly earned its spot on Buzzfeed’s Most-Anticipated Mysteries & Thrillers of 2022.
Ann Dávila Cardinal is a novelist and Director of Recruitment for Vermont College of Fine Arts where she also earned her MFA in Writing. She comes from a long line of Puerto Rican writers, including father and son poets Virgilio and José Antonio Dávila, and her cousin, award-winning fiction writer Tere Dávila. Ann's first novel, Sister Chicas, was co-written with Jane Alberdeston Coralin and Lisa Alvarado, and was released from New American Library. Her next novel, a horror young adult work titled Five Midnights, was released by Tor Teen on June 4, 2019. The story continues in Category Five, also from Tor Teen, released on June 2, 2020. Ann lives in Vermont where she cycles, knits, and prepares for the zombie apocalypse.
Tereza Lopez (she/her) is a recent graduate from Clark University with a double major in English and history. She attended Clark University again in Fall 2021 and obtained a Master’s in communication. When she is not studying, you can find her obsessively reading or taking care of her new kitten.
