The Grand Paloma Resort - by Cleyvis Natera (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The Grand Paloma Resort is a lush paradise in the Dominican Republic where the guests enjoy incredible luxury, and the staff is always eager to please--that is, until they are pushed to the brink.

Laura is a local Dominican woman who, through sheer hard work, has risen through the ranks to become manager at the Grand Paloma Resort. Her idea to pair a "platinum" guest with their own resort employee to attend to their every whim has been wildly successful, and she's just weeks away from a promotion that could blaze a path for her off the resort and toward a life of opportunity. If only her younger sister, Elena--who she's looked after since the death of their mother--could get with the program.

Elena has tried to live up to her sister's expectations, but to escape the drudgery of waiting on rich tourists, she's become increasingly dependent on pills and partying. As a babysitter at the resort, she's at the beck and call of guests who are indulging their worst impulses and need someone else to watch their kids while they do so. Now, after an accident, a child left in her charge is believed dead, and Elena knows she'll be held responsible.

When Elena runs into the child's father at a nearby beachfront watering hole, he offers her an obscene amount of money for private time with two young local girls. Elena pockets the cash to fund her escape and prays she's gotten the girls out of harm's way. But then the girls are reported missing.

Set over the course of seven days, The Grand Paloma Resort offers an unforgettable story of class, family, and community, building to an intense climax in which the true costs of luxury are laid bare, redeemed only by true acts of love.

Review Quotes

"Natera returns to take us on a wild, gripping ride to The Grand Paloma Resort, where carefree tourists bask in the sun, oblivious to the high stakes drama of the Dominican workers toiling to make paradise appear perfect. With compelling characters and a narrative that steals your breath from the first page, Natera offers an unforgettable, unexpected story that will upend readers assumptions about power, pleasure and moral salvation."--Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming

"Part family saga, part mystery, Natera's stunning sophomore novel draws us into the firestorm that results when reckless youth, ambition, secrets, and exploitation collide. Like its setting in the Dominican Republic, The Grand Paloma Resort is lush and brimming with sociopolitical intricacies. Natera is a masterful storyteller, and this irresistible novel is a master class in human nature at its most vulnerable, most callous, and most righteous."--Deesha Philyaw, National Book Award finalist and author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

"One of the most compelling stories you will read this year. If you like Neruda On the Park, you'll love The Grand Paloma Resort for its engaging plot and sharp-eyed commentary on family and community, class and aspiration. Cleyvis Natera has delivered a propulsive story set in a resort hotel in the Dominican Republic, where the staff are pushed to dangerous limits that put an entire community at risk."--Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake

"Cleyvis Natera's deft second novel, The Grand Paloma Resort, is a skillfully woven tale set in a tropical resort, where violence lurks beneath the pristine Caribbean surface. At its heart are two local sisters navigating a community riven by lies, greed, and the persistent damages of colonialism. It's a tense page turner that unsparingly interrogates allegiances, and belonging, and who gets to decide how you survive. Highly recommend."--Cristina García, Vanishing Maps

"The Grand Paloma Resort is as lush and gripping as the island itself. This propulsive and insightful novel peels back the layers of privilege, power, and morality, revealing that even in paradise, no one is truly free from the chaos they bring with them. A heart-stopping, gut-punch of a novel that doesn't just tell a story--it grabs you by the throat and won't let go."--Angie Cruz, author of How Not To Drown In A Glass of Water

"The Grand Paloma Resort is a literary White Lotus. No one investigates the crucible of race, class, and nationality like Cleyvis Natera. With heart and cheek, we enter the underbelly of placid privilege to find that it's anything but. The pleasures of the ruling class are illusions derived from the blood, sweat, tears, and fears of the Global South. Through a rich cast of characters, Natera has written a sexy, sinister, and intricate tale that serves as an indictment of the haves at the expense of the havenots."--Alejandro Valera, National Book Award finalist and author of The Town of Babylon

About the Author

Cleyvis Natera is the author of Neruda on the Park. She was born in the Dominican Republic, migrated to the United States at ten years old, and grew up in New York City. She holds a BA from Skidmore College and a MFA from New York University. Her writing has won awards and fellowships from the International Latino Book Awards, PEN America, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, The Kenyon Review's Writers Workshops, the Vermont Studio Center, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, Rowland Writers Retreat, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is currently a Fulbright Specialist. She lives with her husband and two young children in Montclair, New Jersey. The Grand Paloma Resort is her second novel.