The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters

Lorraine López (Grand Central Publishing, 2008)

Set in the 1940s economic diaspora, the main plot of this book is set in Los Angeles, where the Gabaldón family has relocated after World War II. Within the first pages, readers find themselves engrossed in an intergenerational family that is distinctly New Mexican when they meet, Fermina, a cautiva, the family’s Native American servant. Through the text, we get to know the four Gabaldón sisters, hear Fermina’s stories told through fictionalized WPA narratives, and learn about the gifts that families share through the generations. If you want to go deeper into this experience, I would pair this novel with the nonfiction collection, Women’s Tales from the New Mexico WPA: “La Diabla a Pie” edited by Tey Diana Rebolledo and Mária Teresa Marquez (Arte Público Press, 2000).