The Caregiver

August 13, 2018
This moving posthumously published novel by Park (This Burns My Heart) examines the relationship between a mother and daughter after years of mutual misunderstanding. Ana, a voice-over actress, struggles to provide for her six-year-old daughter, Mara, in late 1970s Rio de Janeiro. Desperate for money, Ana takes on a dangerous job with revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the corrupt police chief. What immediately transpires remains opaque to Mara—and to the reader—but it becomes apparent to Ana that she must separate from her daughter to save her from retaliation. Mara, with the help of her mother, escapes to California and years later finds work caring for a woman who’s dying of stomach cancer. During their time together, Mara begins to understand Ana in new ways as she considers her role as a caretaker. Although the story occasionally lacks believability—particularly surrounding the plot against the police chief—readers will relish the wistful yearning that Park evokes. This beautiful novel is a moving meditation on the mutual dependence and unbreakable bonds of family.

Park's novel tells a beautiful story about relationships, politics, understanding, and forgiveness. Narrator Cassandra Campbell portrays Mara Alenca, whose story is told over multiple time periods. The audiobook begins in the early 1990s, when Mara is 26 and working as an undocumented caregiver in California. Campbell powerfully narrates Mara's life, including flashbacks to her childhood in Brazil when her single mother, Ana, is trying to find her way amid the brutality of the military dictatorship in power at that time. The novel explores the risks people take to protect those they love and the life-changing consequences of those actions. Park creates a powerful picture of the impact of our closest relationships and a compelling look at the complexities of the immigration experience. K.S.M. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine