From the critically acclaimed author of In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd comes a new novel about the search for freedom and the power of community that spans decades of residents in one Florida apartment. 

Examining exile, homesickness, and displacement, Ana Menéndez’s The Apartment asks what—in our violent and lonely century—do we owe one another? If alone we are powerless before sorrow and isolation, it is through community and the sharing of our stories that we may survive and persevere.

“An exquisite palimpsest of culture, memory, and place, Ana Menendez’s The Apartment is The Canterbury Tales of Miami Beach. Rendered in elegant, masterful prose, this novel will enthrall readers and haunt them long after the last page.” —Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Fencing with the King

Menéndez will be in conversation with Tombolo’s Romance Book Club co-host Carmen Alvarez! 

Purchase your copy of the book HERE!!

Ana Menéndez has published four books of fiction: Adios, Happy Homeland!, The Last War, Loving Che, and In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd. She has worked as a journalist in the United States and abroad, lastly as a prize-winning columnist for The Miami Herald. As a reporter, she wrote about Cuba, Haiti, Kashmir, Afghanistan, and India. Her work has appeared in Vogue, Bomb Magazine, The New York Times, and Tin House and has been included in several anthologies, including The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature. She has a B.A. in English from Florida International University and an M.F.A. from New York University. From 2008 to 2009, she lived in Cairo as a Fulbright Scholar. She has also lived in India, Turkey, Slovakia, and The Netherlands, where she designed a creative writing minor at Maastricht University in 2011. She is currently an associate professor at Florida International University with joint appointments in English and the Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab.

Carmen Alvarez is a Cuban-American book lover whose passion for books drove her to establish Tomesandtextiles on Instagram in 2015 and Tik Tok in 2021. She uses her platforms to review and recommend Latinx books from across the diaspora and push back against the lack of representation in traditional publishing. Outside of her passion for books and undying love of her local library, she adores vintage fashion, going to concerts, film, supporting the local arts. Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, she resides there with her husband, Darrell, and two dogs, Laka and Veela.