As Lala explains, the rebozo was a garment that defined the culture of Mexico in her grandmother’s time:
Soledad is born into a family of rebozo (shawl) makers whose artful creation process includes hand-dying and intricate hand-braiding of the shawls’ fringe. When Lala begins to delve deeply into sensory detail, Soledad repeatedly cautions, “Careful! Just enough, but not too much” (92). For example, when Lala opens her story with the phrase, “It was such a long, long time ago” (92), Soledad says, “It wasn’t that long ago!” (92). The voice of the Awful Grandmother makes frequent interruptions of Lala’s telling, dissatisfied by certain elements. It begins with the coming-of-age story of the Awful Grandmother, Soledad Reyes. From the winner of the 2019 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature.Lala’s narration takes the reader back in time, not only before her own birth, but to the turn of the 20th century. Like the cherished rebozo, or shawl, that has been passed down through generations of Reyes women, Caramelo is alive with the vibrations of history, family, and love. Soon, a multigenerational family narrative turns into a whirlwind exploration of storytelling, lies, and life. Struggling to find a voice above the boom of her brothers and to understand her place on this side of the border and that, Lala is a shrewd observer of family life. But when she starts telling the Awful Grandmother's life story, seeking clues to how she got to be so awful, grandmother accuses Lala of exaggerating. Every year, Ceyala “Lala” Reyes' family-aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, and Lala's six older brothers-packs up three cars and, in a wild ride, drive from Chicago to the Little Grandfather and Awful Grandmother's house in Mexico City for the summer. From the celebrated bestselling author of The House on Mango Street and winner of the 2019 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature.
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