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About the Book
Elizabeth Graver’s novel Kantika (song in Ladino) follows the joys and losses of Rebecca Cohen, feisty daughter of the Sephardic elite of early 20th-century Istanbul. When the Cohens lose their wealth and are forced to move to Barcelona and start anew, Rebecca fashions a life and self from what comes her way—a failed marriage, the need to earn a living, but also passion, pleasure and motherhood. Moving from Spain to Cuba to New York for an arranged second marriage, she faces her greatest challenge—her disabled stepdaughter, Luna, whose feistiness equals her own and whose challenges pit new family against old. A haunting, inspiring meditation on the tenacity of women, this lush, lyrical novel celebrates the insistence on seizing beauty and grabbing hold of one’s one and only life.
“A highly readable and poignant tale of dislocation, refuge and resilience.” ― NPR, Best Books of 2023
About the Author
Elizabeth Graver was born in Los Angeles on July 2, 1964, and grew up in Williamstown, Mass. She received her B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1986, and her M.F.A. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1999. This is her sixth novel. She is also the author of several short stories and essays. She teaches at Boston College. She is the mother of two grown daughters.
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