Authors and Stories from El Salvador
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Bitter Grounds
by
Call Number: F BENSpanning the years between 1932 and 1977, this beautifully told epic is set in the heart of El Salvador, where coffee plantations are the center of life for rich and poor alike. Following three generations of the Prieto Clan and the wealthy family they work for, this is the story of mothers and daughters who live, love, and die for their passions.
About the Author
Sandra Benitez's first novel Bitter Grounds won the 1998 American Book Award. She grew up in El Salvador, attended high school and college in Missouri, and now divides her time between Edina, Minnesota, where she teaches creative writing, and Mexico.
from US.Macmillan.com
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One Day of Life
by
Call Number: F ARG5:30 A.M. in Chalate, a small rural town: Lupe, the grandmother of the Guardado family and the central figure of the novel, is up and about doing her chores. By 5:00 P.M. the plot of the novel has been resolved, with the Civil Guard's search for and interrogation of Lupe's young granddaughter, Adolfina. Told entirely from the perspective of the resilient women of the Guardado family, One Day of Life is not only a disturbing and inspiring evocation of the harsh realities of peasant life in El Salvador after fifty years of military exploitation; it is also a mercilessly accurate dramatization of the relationship of the peasants to both the state and the church.
About the Author
Novelist and critic Manlio Argueta was born in San Miguel, El Salvador, in 1935. He was exiled from El Salvador and lived in Costa Rica during the Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992). His published works include A Place Called Milagro de la Paz, Little Red Riding Hood in the Red Light District, Cuzcatlan: Where the Southern Sea Beats, and One Day of Life, which placed fifth in the list by Modern Library of the 100 best Latin American novels of the 20th century.
from PenguinRandomHouse.com
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The Weight of All Things
by
Call Number: F BENNine-year-old Nicolas Veras, attending the funeral of assassinated Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador, loses his mother in the melee that occurs when gunfire erupts, and embarks on a heroic quest to find her.
About the Author
Sandra Benitez's first novel Bitter Grounds won the 1998 American Book Award. She grew up in El Salvador, attended high school and college in Missouri, and now divides her time between Edina, Minnesota, where she teaches creative writing, and Mexico.
from us.Macmillan.com