Geographies of home

the long version

Iliana believed that by attending a college more than five hours from New York City, she could gain independence and escape the watchful eyes of her overprotective, religiously conservative parents. She soon realizes, however, that familial bonds are impossible to break, and that barriers created by time and distance can easily be collapsed. A disembodied voice that Iliana believes is her mother's haunts her nights with disturbing news about her sisters: Marina is careening toward a mental breakdown; Beatriz has disappeared; Rebecca continues in a marriage that has her and her children trapped in a brownstone also populated by hundreds of hens. Convinced she might be of help, Iliana reluctantly returns to New York City. In this dislocating urban environment, far from her native country, the Dominican Republic, she confronts all the contradictions, superstitions, joys, and pains of someone who is caught between two cultures but intent on finding "home."