1. SUNY Plattsburgh English Professor Releases Debut Novel
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Sept. 25, 2013) — SUNY Plattsburgh English Department Professor
J.L. Torreswill read from his new novel, “Accidental Native,” on Tuesday, Oct. 8 from 5:30 to
7 p.m. in Hawkins Hall’s Krinovitz Recital Hall. A reception will follow at the North Country
Cultural Center for the Arts from 7:30 to 9 p.m.. The event is free and open to the public.
“Accidental Native” tells the story of Rennie, a second generation Puerto Rican living in
New York city, who returns to Puerto Rico to bury his parents. Shockingly, he discovers
that his biological mother is actually a high-powered attorney named Julia, who, through
offering a teaching job, convinces him to move to Puerto Rico. There, Rennie must confront
myriad challenges, including Julia’s strong-willed nature, a department chair not thrilled to
have a Nuyorican on staff, squatters living in the house he inherited, students frequently on
strike and a lover anxious to settle down. Most disturbing is the rumor that numerous
faculty and staff are dying from cancer because the campus, a former U.S. military base, is
full of buried munitions.
Critics, such as the Booklist Starred Review, give praise to Torres’ novel.
“Torres does capture the conflicts and challenges Puerto Ricans experience when returning
to their homeland,” they comment,“but he reaches beyond the specific to the universal,
illuminating the lives and feelings of any second-generation American in a similar
situation.”