A spot on The New York Times bestseller list is an unlikely possibility for women of color writers, excepting a celebrated few and those touched by Oprah. This of course, is one of the reasons why Black bestseller lists were created. However, few works of literary value make those lists. Mainstays tend to be mediocre popular fiction offerings. Chances are, Bruised Hibiscus will not disturb the furious forward rush of the mainstream and its literary voice makes it a dubious candidate for a Black bestseller list. And yet, Bruised Hibiscus is bold, intriguing and exceedingly well-written, a novel worthy of praise and acclaim. Here`s what you need to know to make up your own mind.

Nunez sets her tale just as the shadows of colonialism begin to recede in 1950`s Trinidad. Wealthy white planters still control the bulk of labor prospects. African, South Asian and Chinese immigrants work the land living in stark contrast to the wealth of whites. At this time, and in this place, the stories of two women unfold. Zuela is twenty-eight, already the mother of ten children and married to Ho Sang, a man old enough to be her grandfather who insists on treating her as one would an incompetent child. The other is named Rosa, also twenty-eight, the youngest daughter of a white plantation owner. The only of three sisters not sent to England for betrothal and the only to marry a Black man, deemed worthy in part because of his occupation. The two women shared a bond like sisterhood as children, but each has forgotten the other in adulthood.

However, when the decomposing body of a white woman is found in a river in the town of Otahiti, the intricate skein of race, gender, class, and culture that propels Trinidad forward begins to come undone. The news spreads far and fast and while some are quick to dismiss it as man-woman business, most know the act is indicative of much more. The dead woman`s body triggers a memory of sexual abuse that Zuela and Rosa witnessed together as girls. Each is forced to recognize that she must make a change in her life or risk losing herself or killing someone else. And so for the second time, Zuela and Rosa`s path cross.

Nunez is a gifted writer. She employs the brevity and repetition of poetry in her work. She writes unpretentiously, deftly inserting sex, murder and cruelty into a story that also speaks truth to friendship, love and a miracle or two. She is able to create a telling story that is not cheapened by the often-exploited aforementioned themes. Her writing is like the sway in the walk of a confident woman. Buy it. Read it. It`s good.