Face of an Angel by Denise Chavez
Adult Fiction- Main Level- Chavez
This is the delicious saga of the Dosamantes family of Agua Oscura, New Mexico. Young Soveida Dosamantes dreams of becoming a nun, but grows up to enter a different kind of service: waitressing at the El Farol (“the Light”) restaurant. From her mother, Dolores, and grandmother, Lupe, Soveida learns what it means to serve a husband, recommendations she emulates with woeful results. Is it possible to find happiness serving only others? The novel is a rich mixture of Soveida’s intriguing family history, humorous waitressing advice, excerpts of term papers for her Chicana studies class, snippets of phone conversations, and Soveida’s own story. Each section is named after a member of the Catholic hierarchy of angels, and pondering how Chavez matched names and chapters is a worthwhile side project for any literary types out there.