Welcome to Galveston, Texas. Population 50,241.
A popular tourist destination and major shipping port, Galveston attracts millions of visitors each year. Yet of those who come to drink by the beach, few stray from the boulevards to Fish Village, the neighborhood home to individuals who for generations have powered the island.
Carly Castillo has only ever known Fish Village. Her grandmother claims that they descend from the Karankawas, an indigenous Texas people, thereby tethering them to Galveston. But as Carly ages, she begins to imagine a life elsewhere, undefined by her family’s history. Meanwhile, her boyfriend and all-star shortstop turned seaman, Jess, treasures the salty, familiar air. He’s gotten chances to leave Galveston for bigger cities with more possibilities. But he didn’t take them then, and he sure as hell won’t now. When word spreads of a storm gathering strength offshore, building into Hurricane Ike, each Galveston resident must make a difficult decision: board up the windows and hunker down or flee inland and abandon their hard-won homes.
Moving through these characters’ lives and those of the extraordinary individuals who circle them, The Last Karankawas weaves together a multitude of voices to present a lyrical, emotionally charged portrait of everyday survival. The result is an unforgettable exploration of familial inheritance, human resilience, and the histories we assign to ourselves, reminding us that the deepest bonds are forged not by blood, but by fire.
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What People Are Saying
“Written in lyrical, nearly hypnotic prose that makes the reader feel the Texan humidity, this is a brilliantly plotted, startling, and richly rewarding exploration of the myths that bind people together, generational traumas, and the remarkable adaptability of humans.”
— Booklist
“Beautiful, complex, and subversive, The Last Karankawas is an important book about Texas from a powerful new voice in American fiction. I loved it. These characters and their stories will stay with me.”
— Elizabeth Wetmore, New York Times–bestselling author of Valentine
“The Last Karankawas is exactly the kind of book I’ve spent my life searching for as a Chicana of mixed and Filipino heritage. Kimberly Garza’s eloquent and deeply observant debut expands our understanding of South Texas and vibrantly honors the remarkable people who live there. This is a writer to watch.”
— Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of Woman of Light and Sabrina & Corina
“Devastating in its own clarity and nuance. The Last Karankawas has the power to change the way we see where we’ve been and what we may have left behind. A stunning debut from a talented writer.”
— Oscar Cásares, author of Where We Come From
“Garza debuts with an accomplished account of the ties between members of a Filipino and Mexican community… This is a worthy love letter to Galveston.”
— Publishers Weekly
“Stunning… Garza gracefully moves through the lives of various characters as they contend with family history and the meaning of home.”
— Book Riot
“With prose that is elegant and measured, sonorous and at times painfully beautiful, Kimberly Garza lays bare a Southern Texas that has somehow remained unsung until now. The Last Karankawas is not merely a book… It is a collection of incantations—secret and sacred, meant to be shared in a hush.”
— Miroslav Penkov, author of East of the West and Stork Mountain
“The Last Karankawas is a deft and moving portrait of ordinary lives lived in an extraordinary place. Kimberly Garza’s writing is warm, beautifully observed, and filled with human drama. Like all really good fiction, it opens our eyes to new experiences and shows us things we don’t already know.”
— Ian McGuire, bestselling author of The North Water
Praise & Reviews for The Last Karankawas
“Brought to life in a haunting array of voices, The Last Karankawas paints a panoramic portrait in mythic proportions… unfolds with absolutely striking prose to grapple with themes of belonging and identity.”
“Garza manages to expertly capture a range of voices in this stunning and elegiac polyphonic novel…
Expect great things from this debut writer.”
“The novel skillfully weaves together multiple points of view… Garza’s accomplished debut enriches
the public imagination of this corner of America, and the communities within.”
Melissa Chadburn, The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“A beautifully written, emotionally compelling debut novel set on the Texas coast… This exquisite book marks the beginning of what will hopefully be a long and prodigious writing career by the extraordinary Kimberly Garza.”
“Every city would be lucky for such a tribute.”
The Wall Street Journal
“This extraordinary literary fiction delivers quite the powerhouse of emotions and dramatic narration
that will both entertain and provoke deep thought.”
“Brilliantly plotted, startling, and richly rewarding”
Booklist
“Evocative, sometimes heartbreaking and full of rich descriptions… a love letter to the Galveston most tourists never see and a tribute to the people who sustain, and are sustained by, their adopted homeland.”
“A worthy love letter to Galveston.”
“A tale of ecological change, family legacy, and the histories that bind us.”
“A complex, kaleidoscopic story… gracefully moves through the lives of various characters
as they contend with family history and the meaning of home.”