¡Finzamos!
The Official Blog for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Spanish 4362/Language 7313.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Después De Las Bombas
I just finished this book by Arturo Arias, and loved it. It covers the political unrest in Guatemala beginning in 1954 and continues on into the early 1970's. It also covers the revolution in 1944 briefly. It's a really cool book. It uses magical realism to tell the story of a young kid growing up in war-torn Guatemala, and reveals the political instability of the nation, as well as the fear and very limited freedom of the people. Its really intense and often graphic, and although the violence and oppression is intentionally exaggerated, it definitely made me feel fortunate to have grown up in a time and place that is so relatively safe and peaceful. Its also a really fast and easy read (at least in english), and it's actually kind of funny (in an ironic and sometimes disturbing way). I think I'm going to write my final paper on this, and I'd recommend it if anyone is undecided on their topic.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Do you really think that the violence and oppression are exaggerated? I would say that they are not.
Maybe not. I hope that it's exaggerated, but maybe it is as bad as it's described in the book. I don't know a lot about the history. If anything Arias emphasizes the violence in graphic detail in order to reveal the injustice. Whether or not it is exaggerated Arias does an awesome job of painting a picture of how life would have been for a lower class person with indigenous blood in Guatemala during that period. Its a pretty brutal and sad portrayal
Post a Comment