The Caregiver

PRAISE FOR THE CAREGIVER BY SAMUEL PARK [A] luminous mother-daughter saga. -ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY A beautiful testament to [Park's] extraordinary talents as a storyteller. Park himself was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2014, in his 30s, and died shortly after finishing this book-making this his final novel. In prose that rings clear and true, Park shepherds his characters through the streets of Copacabana to the posh hills of Bel Air. This is an elegy that reads, in some moments, like a thriller-and, in others, like a meditation on what it means to be alive...A ferocious page-turner with deep wells of compassion for the struggles of the living-and the sins of the dead.-KIRKUS REIVEWS (STARRED REVIEW) This moving posthumously published novel by Park examines the relationship between a mother and daughter after years of mutual misunderstanding...readers will relish the wistful yearning that Park evokes. This beautiful novel is a moving meditation on the mutual dependence and unbreakable bonds of family.-PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Visual, almost hypnotic language creates a memorable story of what it means to truly care.-GOOD HOUSEKEEPING This posthumously published novel by Samuel Park...jumps between impoverished Copacabana and affluent Bel Air and considers, via a codependent mother-daughter relationship, larger questions of family, identity and the true meaning of caregiving. [Park's] lyrical voice is present in these pages.-CHICAGO TRIBUNE Park's latest hauntingly examines the codependent mother-daughter bond amid complicated layers created by the pursuit of truth...Affecting.-BOOKLIST The heart of this coming-of-age tale lies in Ana's stint as an accessory to rebellion, as she risks her life, provokes overwhelming horror in Mara and blunders into trauma that will haunt them both for the rest of their days...The backdrop of Brazil in political turmoil deepens the suspense, and Park takes his time drawing out the truth of Ana's actions and their consequences...Park's final novel hums with quiet importance and thwarted promise.-SHELF AWARENESS I love Samuel Park, and I love the stories he tells. The Caregiver is a rich and poignant tale of human nature at its best and worst, depicted with elegance and compassion. -CURTIS SITTENFELD, New York Times bestselling author of Eligible The Caregiver is a triumph, a clear-eyed novel full of humanity and compassion and life. The threats of the world are ever-present, but so is a brave and defiant endurance, a sense that the heart can survive the worst defeats, the worst losses, the worst regimes. Samuel Park was a treasure, and he has left us with one.-REBECCA MAKKAI, author of The Great Believers A novel both gripping and tender, told through a lyrical, thoughtful voice that enchanted me from the first page. Mara's unique story would not let me go.-ELEANOR BROWN, New York Times bestselling author of The Weird Sisters and The Light of Paris An addictive, propulsive read that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. Samuel Park writes with a gimlet eye about love, life and death, able to pierce even the toughest of hearts.-NAMI MUN, author of Miles from Nowhere The brilliant Samuel Park has left us a deft and urgent masterpiece about life and death and all the things that make us human. The Caregiver soars like a hymn, delivering heartbreak and joy and lifting readers into a place of compassion and understanding that feels entirely new. -JIM GAVIN, author of Middle Men and creator of AMC's Lodge 49