“Papi’s there, around any corner,” says the eight-year-old girl at the heart of Papi. “But you can’t sit down and wait for him cuz that’s a longer and more painful death.” Living in Santo Domingo, she waits for her father to come back from the United States and lavish her with the glorious rewards of his fame and fortune—shiny new cars and polo shirts, gold chains and Nikes. But when Papi does come back, he turns out to be more “like Jason, the guy from Friday the 13th," than a prince. Papi is a drug dealer, a man who is clearly unreliable and dangerous but nevertheless makes his daughter feel powerful and wholly, terrifyingly alive.
Drawing on her memories of a childhood split between Santo Domingo and visits with her father amid the luxuries of the United States, Rita Indiana mixes satire with a child’s imagination, horror with science fiction, in a swirling tale of a daughter’s love, the lure of crime and machismo, and the violence of the adult world. Expertly translated into English for the first time by Achy Obejas, who renders the rhythmic lyricism of Indiana’s Dominican Spanish in language that propels the book forward with the relentless beat of a merengue, Papi is furious, musical, and full of wit—a passionate, overwhelming, and very human explosion of artistic virtuosity.
Industry Reviews
"Papi is a tour de force. . . . A torrent here channeled by a girl who waits for the return of her father. . . . The imagination of this creature can be almost psychedelic."-- "El Pa?s"
"[One of] five Latino authors essential for your library. . . . Indiana is a spark that transforms what she touches. Almost a decade before she turned Dominican music upside down with the electro-merengue of Rita Indiana y los misterios, the talented Quisqueyanan writer had already published the novel La estrategia de Chochueca. Since then, after a break to pursue her musical career, she has published three other novels. . . . Papi, recently translated into English by Obejas, Nombres y animales, and La mucama de Omicunl?."-- "El Diario"
"Exists somewhere between dream and delirium. . . . Indiana's stream-of-consciousness narrative creates a world like Alice's Wonderland--if it had been set in the Dominican Republic, that is. Papi is a curiosity, apparently a cult classic in the Caribbean, while its author is a celebrated musician and something of a cult classic herself. Does that make her sui generis? Readers will decide for themselves."-- "Booklist"
"Overlooking this slim-spine novel would be a mistake. Papi's virtues are many, from the protagonist's singular voice to Indiana's rhythmic prose. . . . Papi is a fascinating portrait and an astute examination of a complex father-daughter relationship."-- "Chicago Review of Books"
"Whether spent at home, driving cross-country, or venturing abroad, summer demands its own reading list. . . . For a dose of narrative verve: Rita Indiana's Papi."-- "World Literature Today"
"Papi . . . is entering the American literary scene at a ripe moment. . . . Works of literary fiction in translation have been appearing regularly on the bestseller lists since the 2012 publication of the first of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan series and its intimate, visceral description of women grappling with male-dominated violence and class struggle. Papi takes on many of the same concerns, unfurling in an eight-year-old's breathless ode to her father as she waits for his return to the Dominican Republic from the United States. The voice vibrates at a high frequency, broadcasting the braggadocio necessary to keep the precarious center of anticipation from falling out. . . . Language with such pulse and intensity, easily traceable to the author's roots as musician, might pose a challenge for a lesser translator. . . . Readers who enjoy the book have reason to shout hallelujah . . .: Papi is just the first of the books in the 'Trilog?a de las Ni?as Locas.'"--Jac Jemc "Newcity"
"[Indiana is one of] 'Seven writers with un pie aqu? y uno all?.' . . . These women are all in possession of unique individual voices that shed light on the complex psychological and economic condition of living with un pie aqu? y uno all? one foot here and one foot there. . . . Papi is a hallucinatory and stylistically innovative story about a child who is at once adoring and afraid of her outrageous drug lord father."--Emily Raboteau "Vela Magazine"
"At times, reading Papi feels like a roll through the tumble cycle of a sweaty child's fever dream. Probably intentionally, it's still difficult to weigh anchor amid the tumult. But whatever hang-ups this difficulty may present, the book allays with its slim spine and unique vision. . . . Indiana's is a singularly inventive new voice in Caribbean literature."--Diego B?ez "Queen Mob's Teahouse"
"Indiana is from the Dominican Republic and is I think, for me, the best novelist in the last twenty years. If you want to understand Dominican society today you have to read her books, in particular Papi, a journey about a young girl becoming an adult. This book offered a lot of images that I think at some point I use in my works."--Jorge Pineda "Literary Hub"
"Masterfully translated by Obejas. . . . the lyricism and endless flow of scenery in Papi reminds me of Ginsberg's 'Howl.' . . . This is a reading experience, like listening to a song or walking into an art installation that you can occupy and experience. Through repetition and swirling images, feelings articulated and rearticulated in later scenes in new locations, Papi is a nightmarish reading experience. It's sexy, sad, and told to you in the voice of an eight year old. Read if you dare."--Emma Terhaar "Third Coast Review"
"As delirious as it is powerful, Papi is a harrowing vision of a daughter trapped in the underworld of her father. Rita Indiana is one of a kind."--Junot D?az
