Perla

Perla Correa grew up a privileged only child in Buenos Aires with a polished yet aloof mother and a straight-laced Naval officer father, whose profession she learned early not to disclose in a country still reeling from the abuses perpetrated by the deposed military dictatorship. Although Perla understands that her parents were on the wrong side of the conflict, her love for her Papá is unconditional. But when she is startled by an uninvited visitor, she begins a journey that will force her to confront the unease she has long suppressed, and make a wrenching decision about who she is, and will become.

This rich human drama is based on the truth of 30,000 disappeared Argentinean citizens and 500 babies who were born in clandestine detention centers, torn from their mothers and secretly given up for adoption. In the years that followed this dark time, some of these children have been able to discover the identity of their true families, and continue to do so today. Perla brings real history to life as only fiction can, in an intimate, unforgettable portrait of one young woman’s explosive search for truth. In her second novel, De Robertis unfolds a gripping and historically resonant tale with keen-eyed compassion, luminous prose, and a startling vision of the incomparable power of love.


Published by Knopf
in March of 2012

“Expect richly observed detail and real human drama from this award-winning author.”
—Library Journal

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