Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE UK POLARI BOOK PRIZE 2024
Kirkus Reviews “BEST OF 2023” SELECTION.
International Latino Book Awards 2024—Best LGBTQ+ Themed Book (Honorable Mention)
Award-winning author and immigration attorney Orlando Ortega-Medina returns to 1990s San Francisco in The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants, a powerful family drama that plays out within a captivating legal thriller.
Attorney Marc Mendes, the estranged son of a prominent rabbi and a burned-out lawyer with addiction issues, plots his exit from the big city to a more peaceful life in idyllic Napa Valley. But before he can realize his dream, the US government summons his Salvadoran life partner Isaac Perez to immigration court, threatening him with deportation.
As Marc battles to save Isaac, his world is further upended by a dark and alluring client, who aims to tempt him away from his messy life. Torn between his commitment to Isaac and the pain-numbing escapism offered by his client, Marc is forced to choose between the lesser of two evils while confronting his twin demons of past addiction and guilt over the death of his first lover.
The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants is an extraordinary and timely tale about the value of family and friendship, loyalty and love, in the face of adversity.
Ortega-Medina is the author of three novels and a short story collection shortlisted for the UK’s Polari First Book Prize. In 2018, he was named the Marilyn Hassid Emerging Author for the Houston Jewish Book & Arts Festival. Ortega-Medina and his partner now live in London, England, where he practices US immigration law and writes fiction.
Website: www.orlandoortegamedina.com
Twitter: @oortegamedina
Facebook: www.facebook.com/orlandoortegamedina
