Esperanza Street

The novel "Esperanza Street" by Niyati Kenis is a story about criminality, progress, freedom, and the choices that define us. It follows Joseph, a houseboy, and Mary Morelos, a wealthy woman, in a Spanish colonial house in a port town in the Philippines. Through Joseph's eyes, we witness the destruction of their community.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 326 pages
Publication date: 30 August 2023
Publisher: And Other Stories

So begins the story of Joseph, a houseboy to the once-wealthy Mary Morelos, who lives in the three-story Spanish colonial house at the top of Esperanza Street in a port town in the Philippines. Through Joseph's eyes, we are witness to the destruction of the community to which they are both, in their own way, bound. Niyati Kenis evocative and richly populated debut novel, Esperanza Street, is about criminality under the guise of progress, freedom, or the illusion of it, and about how the choices that we make are ultimately the real measure of who we are.

When Joseph was eight years old, his father brought him to one of the grand houses at the top of Esperanza Street and left him with Mary Morelos. "I haven't the time to fix broken wings," she said. "Does he have any trouble with discipline?" my father glanced at me before answering.

So begins the story of Joseph, a houseboy to the once-wealthy Mary Morelos, who lives in the three-story Spanish colonial house at the top of Esperanza Street in a port town in the Philippines. Through Joseph's eyes, we are witness to the destruction of the community to which they are both, in their own way, bound. Niyati Kenis evocative and richly populated debut novel, Esperanza Street, is about criminality under the guise of progress, freedom, or the illusion of it, and about how the choices that we make are ultimately the real measure of who we are.

Weight: 310g
Dimension: 199 x 128 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781908276483