Deeper than the Ocean
Contributors
By Mirta Ojito
Formats and Prices
- On Sale
- Nov 4, 2025
- Page Count
- 352 pages
- Publisher
- Union Square & Co.
- ISBN-13
- 9781454961901
Price
$28.99Format
Format:
- Hardcover $28.99
- ebook $14.99
- Audiobook Download (Unabridged) $31.99
Buy from Other Retailers:
A moving multigenerational novel about the enduring power of a mother’s love, the ripple effect of secrets, and the strength of family bonds from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
In 1919 Spain, Catalina Quintana is the eldest daughter in a family of silkworm farmers on the tiny island of La Palma in the remote Canary Islands. Fiercely independent, Catalina dreams of building a life with her childhood love. But when a devastating fire ruins her family’s silkworm farm, she’s forced into a loveless marriage and a journey across the sea to Cuba aboard a doomed ocean liner.
A century later, in 2019, journalist Mara Denis travels to La Palma to cover a modern-day disaster near the island. But the trip becomes personal when her mother asks her to find a long-lost birth certificate. Long haunted by the sea and plagued by dreams of a daughter she’s never had, Mara begins to uncover a hidden family history that centers on Catalina, her great-grandmother who, she soon discovers, is listed among the dead in the infamous Valbanera shipwreck. As Mara follows Catalina’s trail across Spain, Cuba, and Key West, she unearths a story of forbidden love and resilience that echoes through six generations.
Told in a dual narrative that moves seamlessly between past and present, Deeper than the Ocean is a meditation on the strength of women, the enduring power of a mother’s love, and the corrosive hold of family secrets across oceans and time.
This sweeping novel is perfect for fans of Isabel Allende, Julia Alvarez, and Kristin Hannah.
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"Pulitzer-winning journalist Ojito makes her fiction debut with an affecting parallel narrative of two women...This one’s tough to shake."Publishers Weekly
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"[T]he book delivers all that historical fiction fans could want: There’s passion. Love. Loss. The Old World, the New World. The real shipwreck of the Valbanera... a modern quest for identity and home that uncovers long-guarded family secrets."AARP
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"[A]n appealing novel based in fact, combining aspects of literary and historical fiction."Library Journal
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"[A] very personal work, weaving fiction into and among events that mostly took place more than 100 years ago... [an] exquisitely written novel.Historical Novel Society
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"[A] story of complex passions, tragic destinies, and Latin American culture that recalls the novels of Isabel Allende...A strong debut graced by vivid settings, strong female characters, and classic storytelling."Kirkus
