White Light is a gorgeous novel about difficult subjects: loss, regret, and the craving of artists to create art. Veronica Gonzalez is a young artist in Miami, the daughter of Cuban immigrants. She is barely scraping by when she is offered a gallery showing that could finally fling open the doors to the art world for her. Just as she begins to prepare for this show, her father dies suddenly, throwing her into grief and the chaos of their tumultuous and unresolved relationship.

The color of faraway places

The book is beautifully designed, from the front cover – a section of a painting by the author – to the chapter headings, many of which offer a scribble of color followed by a brief, often poetic, definition. Orange, for example, is “color of Florida and faraway places.” Silver is “a spiritual color. Color of the moon.” Indigo is “the color you see glinting off a non-recorded DVD.”

The book is filled with lyrical language, such as this description of a woman talking, “a slight Caribbean accent tracing her words like smoke.” The book gives the reader a dynamic view of the creative process from the inside, a glimpse of the full spectrum of love and loss, and a reason to look forward eagerly to future work from this multi-talented writer and artist.

Best books of 2015

White Light is the second novel produced by the feminist publisher Shade Mountain Press. The first was my own novel, Her Own Vietnam. While I may not be the most objective reviewer of this novel, I am far from alone in my admiration of it. Among many other accolades, White Light was named by NPR as one of the best books of 2015, under the category “Seriously Great Writing.”

Get a free copy

I’m please to have copy of White Light to give away. To participate in the giveaway, contact me and let me know you want a copy. I’ll randomly select a name. If it’s yours, I’ll mail you a free book. (Sorry, U.S. addresses only.)