About the Author

JUDITH ORTIZ COFER (1952-2016) was the Regents' and Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing Emerita at the University of Georgia. She is also the author of The Latin Deli: Telling the Lives of Barrio Women, An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio, Woman in Front of the Sun: On Becoming a Writer; and many other books. The University of Georgia Press published her first novel, The Line of the Sun, in 1989.

Reviews

A remarkable story, written from the heart as only the best stories are.--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Line of the Sun reads like a dream, from the beautifully realized description of the deceptive Paradise Lost, to the utterly different but equally vivid world of the urban North. . . . This is a splendid first novel.--The State (Columbia, SC)

Cofer . . . reveals herself to be a prose writer of evocatively lyrical authority, a novelist of historical compass and sensitivity. . . . One recognizes in the rich weave and vigorous elegance of the language of The Line of the Sun a writer of authentic gifts, with a genuine and important story to tell.--New York Times Book Review

In this extraordinary first novel, Judith Ortiz Cofer bridges two cultures, giving voice to people who are seldom heard from. . . . Cofer invites us into a climate where the settings are authentic and richly textured, and whose lives bound in cultural mythology are particularized through the strengths and gifts of language, fully realized characters, and a multi-dimensional narrative. There is great strength in the way Cofer evokes the fierce, loving, and brave Latin spirit that is the novel's real theme.--Joyce Johnson

Poetry . . . what distinguishes the book finally are the images, the phrases, the simple scenes that catch the ear like a sparkle catches the eye.--Washington Times

Remarkable . . . Cofer is a fine storyteller. Her prose conveys all the energy and mystery of anticipation.--Women's Review of Books

The writing in this superb novel stuns and surprises at every turn. Its sensuality and imagery . . . are riveting.--San Juan Star

This first novel by an accomplished poet flavors the U.S. immigrant experience with a hint of magical realism. The story of Guzman, black sheep of a Puerto Rican village, is here told by his assimilited niece. Adventurous from childhood, the wild youth is ostracized because of an affair with a notorious older woman whose reputation as a spiritist does not save her from the wrath of righteous neighbors. Heading for New York and the American dream, Guzman wanders for more than a decade until he confronts his island roots in a violent, resonant denouement. A shaky transition between the novel's two main sections is offset by well-realized characters and vibrant depictions of Puerto Rican folk culture. Recommended.-- Starr E. Smith, Georgetown Univ. Lib., Washington, D.C.

A remarkable story, written from the heart as only the best stories are.

Cofer . . . reveals herself to be a prose writer of evocatively lyrical authority, a novelist of historical compass and sensitivity. . . . One recognizes in the rich weave and vigorous elegance of the language of The Line of the Sun a writer of authentic gifts, with a genuine and important story to tell.

In this extraordinary first novel, Judith Ortiz Cofer bridges two cultures, giving voice to people who are seldom heard from. . . . Cofer invites us into a climate where the settings are authentic and richly textured, and whose lives bound in cultural mythology are particularized through the strengths and gifts of language, fully realized characters, and a multi-dimensional narrative. There is great strength in the way Cofer evokes the fierce, loving, and brave Latin spirit that is the novel's real theme.

Poetry . . . what distinguishes the book finally are the images, the phrases, the simple scenes that catch the ear like a sparkle catches the eye.

Remarkable . . . Cofer is a fine storyteller. Her prose conveys all the energy and mystery of anticipation.

The writing in this superb novel stuns and surprises at every turn. Its sensuality and imagery . . . are riveting.