In the Palm of Darkness - Paperback

Mayra Montero was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1952, and has lived in Puerto Rico since the mid-1960s. She studied journalism in Mexico and Puerto Rico and worked for many years as a correspondent in Central America and the Caribbean. She is presently a highly acclaimed journalist in Puerto Rico and writes a weekly column in El Nuevo Dia newspaper. Montero's first book was a collection of short stories, Twenty-Three and a Turtle. Her second book, a novel titled The Braid of the Beautiful Moon, was a finalist for the Herralde awards, one of Europe's most prestigious literary awards. Each of her subsequent books -- The Last Night I Spent With You, The Red of His Shadow, In the Palm of Darkness, and The Messenger -- has been published in the United States in translations by Edith Grossman, as well as in several European countries. Her other nonfiction work appears frequently in scholarly and literary publications throughout the world.

Key Themes

This novel explores the intersection of science and humanity, examining how the search for endangered species mirrors the fragility of human connections. Set against the backdrop of Caribbean violence and political turmoil, the story delves into friendship, survival, and the bonds that form between unlikely companions.