Ballad of Another Time

“A haunting, almost uncanny tale of love and honor in which the three main characters move through a world of secret passions and silences. . . .  [Set in Puerto Rico], scenes of impoverished farmers, madwomen, and men in coffee shops and cafes combine to form a blend of voices and landscapes whose essence can be distilled into three tobacco, coffee, and sugar. . . . Asa Zatz must be praised for bringing into his English version the beauty and melody of [González’s] Spanish original.”—Marjorie Agosin, New York Times Book Review