一對姊弟在慢慢崛起的布魯克林中,尋找身份認同以及人生目標
揭露紐約不那麼美好的一面,關於移民、地位、經濟,還有永不落幕的美國夢
來自波多黎各移民第二代的Olga和弟弟Pedro,算是在社區裡有頭有臉的大人物,Pedro是受眾人愛戴的議員,作為布魯克林的拉丁社區居民代表,而Olga則是時尚的婚禮顧問,專為曼哈頓區的上流人士們服務。但在兩人光鮮亮麗的背後,各自有不堪的一面:Pedro是個被不肖地產商抓到把柄的深櫃男同性戀,而Olga作為他人的婚禮包辦者,卻始終找不到屬於自己的幸福。
2017年夏末,颶風瑪莉亞侵襲了波多黎各,造成當地大量災情,而後漸漸北移,夾帶水氣進入了美國東南部,也同時將失聯已久的母親Blanca,帶進了姊弟倆的生活。Olga和Pedro的父母親都是波多黎各獨立的社會運動者,但父親在Olga還小的時候,就因為吸食大量海洛因而去世,母親則為了理想,全身投入社會運動中,跟著秘密軍事組織離開,留下年幼的姊弟倆給祖母撫養長大。當他們再次觸碰到家庭中最禁忌的問題,並重新審視關於身份、親情的認同,人生中的「颶風」才正要發威。
(文/博客來外文館)
It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro 'Prieto' Acevedo, are bold-faced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying, Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan's power brokers.
Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the one percent, but she can't seem to find her own . . . until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets.
Twenty-seven years ago, their mother, Blanca, a Young Lord-turned-radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives.
Set against the backdrop of New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico's history, Olga Dies Dreaming is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife and the very notion of the American dream - all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.