19:I[66739,["/_next/static/chunks/0.3dg.jzl0xwf.js?dpl=dpl_BhmHa8NmNRnoMAUm8Lqp3TPz2qZA","/_next/static/chunks/0qxr~fpya2kw0.js?dpl=dpl_BhmHa8NmNRnoMAUm8Lqp3TPz2qZA","/_next/static/chunks/12wfgjmhh21qu.js?dpl=dpl_BhmHa8NmNRnoMAUm8Lqp3TPz2qZA","/_next/static/chunks/028~snn2srcd-.js?dpl=dpl_BhmHa8NmNRnoMAUm8Lqp3TPz2qZA","/_next/static/chunks/079qbl7l5rd72.js?dpl=dpl_BhmHa8NmNRnoMAUm8Lqp3TPz2qZA","/_next/static/chunks/0hi8o2xq05aig.js?dpl=dpl_BhmHa8NmNRnoMAUm8Lqp3TPz2qZA"],"default"] 1b:I[38632,["/_next/static/chunks/0qqtp3r0h7kah.js?dpl=dpl_BhmHa8NmNRnoMAUm8Lqp3TPz2qZA","/_next/static/chunks/0iukvycbd42rl.js?dpl=dpl_BhmHa8NmNRnoMAUm8Lqp3TPz2qZA"],"IconMark"] 1a:T499,Hugo Contreras, the protagonist of Raul Palma's new novel, is a babaláwo; he can cleanse evil spirits. Except he doesn't really believe in the whole thing. So when he's able to strike up a deal with a debt collector – get rid of the ghosts in his house in exchange for a clean slate – he assumes he can mostly fake it. In today's episode, Palma joins NPR's Scott Simon to discuss A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens, and how the concept of debt – not just financial, but personal, too – stirs up a lot of trauma for Hugo.

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In 'A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens,' debt takes on many meanings

NPR's Book of the Day

In 'A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens,' debt takes on many meanings