Tentacle
SynopsisPlot
Plucked from her life on the streets of post-apocalyptic Santo Domingo, young maid Acilde Figueroa finds herself at the heart of a voodoo prophecy: only she can travel back in time and save the ocean – and humanity – from disaster. But first, she must become the man she always was – with the help of a sacred anemone. Tentacle is an electric novel with a big appetite and a brave vision, plunging headfirst into questions of climate change, technology, Yoruba ritual, queer politics, poverty, sex, colonialism, and contemporary art. Bursting with punk energy and lyricism, it’s a restless, addictive trip: The Tempest meets the telenovela.
Story
About this book
Tentacle is set in a future Santo Domingo where environmental collapse has reshaped daily life in the Dominican Republic. Acilde Figueroa, a young woman working as a maid, is drawn into a prophecy rooted in Santeria, the Afro-Caribbean spiritual tradition shaped by Yoruba beliefs brought to the Americas during the slave trade. According to this prophecy, Acilde is the one person capable of traveling back in time to prevent the destruction of the ocean. Before undertaking that task, she must undergo a physical transformation, becoming the man she has always understood herself to be, aided by a mysterious sacred anemone.
The novel moves between time periods and shifts perspective as it threads together science fiction, Caribbean spiritual practice, and questions about gender identity. Rita Indiana, a Dominican writer and musician, uses this structure to address colonial history, poverty, climate crisis, queer experience, and contemporary art without isolating any single theme from the others. The story's energy draws from both literary fiction and popular culture, folding elements of telenovela storytelling into speculative narrative.
Originally published in Spanish as La mucama de Omicunle, the book was translated into English by Achy Obejas. Its setting in Santo Domingo grounds the story in a specific Caribbean geography while its subject matter extends well beyond one city or island.
