Author Derek Palacio Discusses ‘The Mortifications,’ Midwest Literary Walk
The 9th Midwest Literary Walk is next Saturday, April 29th, from 1-5 p.m. in Chelsea.
Michigan author Derek Palacio’s debut novel The Mortifications, named A New York Times Best Book of 2016, will be featured next week at the Midwest Literary Walk in Chelsea.
The event’s website calls the book “Breathtaking, soulful, and profound.” It says:
It explores how conflicting political ideals, cultural clashes, spiritual crises, and divided passions challenge a Cuban-American family over multiple generations at the turn of the twenty-first century.
Palacio joins Stephen Henderson on Detroit Today to discuss his book, as well as his personal connections with Cuba and the role this played in the creation of his novel.
“When I was approaching the book and starting to feel the pull to write it,” Palacio say, “it was both a desire to better understand that part of my identity, but also understanding that I was going to have to write it from a very great… distance both culturally and geographically.”
He says at the time he wrote The Mortifications he had never been to Cuba. However, he discusses the first time, after he wrote the book, that he had the opportunity to travel to Cuba.
Click on the audio player above to hear the full conversation.
