Puerto Rican writer and columnist Cezanne Cardona has published his new book, Esto también es una casa, using fiction to reinvent personal family memories.
The book, released by publisher Seix Barral in 2026, conveys an intimacy that appears autobiographical, but Cardona explained that memory alone was not enough to construct a narrative story.
Domestic Spaces and Family Roots
Domestic spaces, everyday objects and daily routine gestures have held a central role in Cardona's literature since his 2018 publication Levittown mon amour. Through these elements, he explores personal identity, human affection and family bonds, defining his literary work as a continuous search for the dignity of the everyday.
Cardona grew up between two distinct environments as the child of a social worker mother and a father who worked as a painter and musician. He inherited discipline, a passion for reading and a strong social consciousness from his mother, while his father provided him with a proximity to visual art and aesthetic sensitivity. The eventual divorce of his parents and the experience of moving between different households during his childhood also left a lasting impact on his writing.
Academic Career and Public Writing
To gain a deeper understanding of his home country, Cardona enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico in the School of Humanities, where he studied history with a minor in literature. He noted that literature took hold of him during those years of intense intellectual activity, prompting him to remain at his alma mater as a university professor after completing his studies.
Cardona stated that teaching had always been a personal dream, noting that preparing course material and engaging with students remained among his most enriching experiences. His subsequent work as a newspaper columnist led him away from formal academic language toward a more direct prose style. He explained that writing for public discourse taught him to keep his ear to the ground and stay connected to daily reality.
Musical Influence and Literary Style
Before establishing himself as an author, Cardona studied the cello, a musical background that continues to shape his literary structure. His pages feature a slow, rhythmic cadence that supports each scene, blending the perspective of a reader grounded in literary tradition with that of an observer of present events.
Critiques of Cardona's prose highlight a tangible quality that conveys the warmth of the Caribbean, inviting readers into familiar setting dynamics that make them feel at home.
