Going Under: A Novel - Tapa dura

Going Under, Virgil Suarez's fourth and most compelling novel, is the passionate portrayal of one man's dreams shattered in the promised land.
Meet Xavier Cuevas - businessman, husband, father - spread thin between all his responsibilities and obligations, living an empty bumper to bumper existence of meaningless errands and the yearning for more. Blinded by greed as he wheels and deals in Miami, Xavier manages, most of all, to lose his own sense of identity, his cultural soul.
His marriage falls apart, his children become estranged and Xavier can no longer attain any of his dreams. A nervous breakdown seems in the offing, and life and love will never be the same. This thoroughly Americanized Cuban suddenly seeks the help of a santera (a Cuban faith healer). Xavier's voyage back to his roots inevitably takes the reader to an arresting ending.

Virgil Suarez is an associate professor in the Creative Writing Program at Florida State University.