Books: “How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water” by Angie Cruz

It’s not easy being Cara Romero. The protagonist of Angie Cruz’s latest novel “How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water,” she’s three months behind on her rent in Washington Heights, spends the little money she has on a fortune teller, and neither her sister nor her gay son will speak to her. Oh, and she’s lost her factory job when the company relocated to Costa Rica.

But what she can do is tell stories. Each of the chapters in “Water” represents one session she has with her job counselor and usually begins  with an explanation of why she isn’t fit for a particular position. Then the conversation quickly digresses to a story—something that captures some unhappy but fascinating and often humorous aspect of her life. Even though she often comes across as unbearable, you keep rooting for her to win.

This book captures the essence of Washington Heights, which is one of my favorite New York neighborhoods. Even though it’s best known for the movie musical “In Da Heights”,  living there is no “La La Land.” I’ve encountered tough, gritty, hard-working people who nevertheless always have time to say hello and who’d give you the shirt off their backs—even if it were their last.

Writers are told to write what they know.  And Cruz, whose work was once short-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, obviously knows da Heights. But more importantly, she knows the people who make it so spectacular. That includes imaginary characters like Cara Romero, whose pastelitos with raisins could make my mouth water even on a full stomach.