Carol Barrios Signs Her Debut Novel, Mahala, at Bank Square Books
Carol Barrios Signs Her Debut Novel, Mahala, at Bank Square Books, bringing a story rooted in her family history to Mystic on Saturday, August 29, when she signs copies of the book. The free weekend signing runs from noon to 4 p.m. It gives readers a chance to meet the Connecticut author behind a historical novel that begins more than a century ago on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent.
At its center is Mahala, a young woman confronting a future that everyone around her seems to have already decided.
A Woman Born Before Her Time
Mahala opens in St. Vincent in the British West Indies in 1900.
Its title character occupies an unusual place within her own family. Adopted by her mother’s best friend but raised next door to her biological siblings, Mahala grows up connected to two families of Indian descent navigating life in colonial Caribbean society.
The adults around her know what comes next.
She’ll leave school. Marry well. Run a household. Have children.
Mahala has other ideas.
She wants an education, independence and the ability to decide what happens to her own life.
Eventually, those ambitions force her toward a choice: remain in St. Vincent and accept an arranged marriage or leave her homeland and family behind for the possibilities of New York.
From the Caribbean to New York
Mahala’s journey gives Barrios room to explore more than one place and period.
The novel moves from the restrictive expectations surrounding a young woman in the colonial Caribbean toward the possibilities and complications of life in America.
New York offers freedom, but not an easy life.
Mahala ultimately becomes involved in efforts to improve conditions for women working in New York’s garment industry during the 1920s, expanding her struggle for control over her own life into a concern for the lives of other women.
That gives the novel several layers at once: historical fiction, immigration story, coming-of-age novel and family saga.
But there’s another layer beneath all of them.
Mahala Was Her Grandmother
Barrios didn’t invent the woman at the center of the story from nothing.
Mahala was inspired by her own grandmother.
That family connection gives the novel an unusual starting point. Barrios is using fiction to reach backward through generations, imagining the private choices, conflicts and emotions surrounding a woman whose life ultimately became part of her own family’s history.
The result explores questions that remain recognizable more than a century later.
How much does someone owe their family?
When does tradition become a limitation?
And what are you willing to leave behind for the chance to determine your own future?
A Connecticut Author’s First Novel
Mahala is Barrios’ debut novel and was published in April 2026.
Carol Marques Barrios is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she earned both a Bachelor of Science in marketing and a Master of Business Administration.
She now lives in Fairfield, Connecticut, with her husband and three daughters.
Her first novel takes her considerably farther from home, geographically and historically, while remaining connected to the family story that inspired it.
Spend Part of Saturday With the Author
Saturday’s Bank Square Books appearance isn’t a formal author talk with a single starting time.
Barrios will be at the Mystic bookstore from noon to 4 p.m. for a weekend book signing, giving readers a larger window to stop in, meet her and have a copy of Mahala signed.
The event is free.
Readers who can’t attend can also arrange to purchase a signed copy through Bank Square Books.
For everyone else, the author behind Mahala will be in Mystic Saturday afternoon, signing a story that began in her family generations before she sat down to write it.
Event Details
Event: Carol Barrios (Mahala) Weekend Book Signing
Date: Saturday, August 29, 2026
Time: Noon–4 p.m.
Location: Bank Square Books
Address: 80 Stonington Road, Suite 8, Mystic, CT 06355
Admission: Free
Author: Carol Marques Barrios
Book: Mahala
Published: April 2026
Genre: Historical fiction and family saga
Carol Marques Barrios visits Bank Square Books for a four-hour signing of Mahala, her debut historical novel inspired by her grandmother’s journey from the colonial Caribbean toward a life of her own choosing.
Featured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people, location, or activities shown.
