Free Audiobook : The Great Divide, By Cristina Henriquez

A compelling narrative about the creation of the Panama Canal, shedding light on the unsung individuals who resided, loved, and toiled there.

The canal is touted to be the most significant engineering achievement in history. However, it first needs to be constructed. For Francisco, a local fisherman who harbors resentment towards the foreign entities vying for a piece of his homeland, nothing is more distressing than his son, Omar’s decision to work as a digger in the excavation area. Yet, for Omar, who had a quiet and solitary upbringing, this job provides an opportunity to finally establish a connection.

Ada Bunting, a courageous sixteen-year-old from Barbados, arrives in Panama as a stowaway among thousands of other West Indians in search of employment. Alone and resourceless, she is resolved to secure a job that will provide sufficient funds for her sick sister’s surgery. When she notices a young man—Omar—who has collapsed following a strenuous shift, she is the only one who rushes to his assistance.

John Oswald has devoted his life to scientific research and has traveled to Panama with a singular objective: to eradicate malaria. However, his wife, Marian, has now fallen ill, and when he observes Ada’s courage and empathy, he immediately employs her as a caregiver. This pivotal decision triggers a sweeping narrative of ambition, allegiance, and sacrifice.

Intense and compassionate, The Great Divide delves into the intersecting lives of activists, fishmongers, workers, journalists, neighbors, doctors, and fortune tellers—those often overlooked by history even as they shaped its trajectory.