Deeper than the Ocean

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.