Still Water Saints

'Still Water Saints' chronicles a momentous year in the life of Agua Mansa, a largely Latino town beyond the fringes of Los Angeles and home to the Botanica Oshun, where people come seeking charms, herbs, and candles. Above all, they seek the guidance of Perla Portillo, the shop's owner. Perla has served the community for years, arming her clients with the tools to overcome all manner of crises, large and small. But when a customer with a troubled and mysterious past arrives, Perla struggles to help and must confront both her unfulfilled hopes and her doubts about her place in a rapidly changing world. Imaginative, inspiring, lyrical, and beautifully written, "Still Water Saints" evokes the unpredictability of life and the resilience of the spirit. '"Still Water Saints" is a bravura work ...It is Alex Espinoza's wonderful gift of language and of heart to introduce these characters and their linked stories with such good will and curiosity and sympathy and wit that they will be forever after this reader's neighbors, friends and kin' - Geoffrey Wolff, author of "The Duke of Deception". 'Poignant ...The strongest parts of this book are the well drawn characters who effortlessly capture the reader's heart. Perhaps its greatest weakness is that we are left wanting more' - "FT Magazine".