Book Summary and Reviews of The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera

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Mary Ann

The journey of two El Salvadoran sisters before and after the time of The Massacre
The Volcano Daughters begins in El Salvador in the early 1900’s during the dictatorship of president Maximiliano Hernández Martínez. Actually his name isn’t even worth mentioning as in the story, he is simply El Gran Pendejo or The General. The story opens just after Salvadoran soldiers massacre thousands of indigenous people who lived up in the mountains, and worked as bonded laborers in the coffee fields. By means of a Greek chorus of ghosts—Lourdes, María, Cora and Lucia—we learn they were a group of childhood friends who were left for dead, along with their friend Graciela who is the sole survivor. Years before, Graciela’s older sister Consuelo was forcefully taken from their mother, by their father, to live with him in the capital with his new wife. Their father Germán escaped the drudgery of farm work when a wealthy white man offered to send him to school in Switzerland. In time, strangely enough, he becomes a spiritual advisor, an oracle, to The General.

The ghosts having been deprived of life too early, “hitch a ride” on Graciela’s and Consuelo’s life threads, and follow along with them to the capital, into the diaspora, and all that follows for the rest of their lives. But our ghostly friends, also have another agenda, they “haunt” and whisper into Graciela’s ears encouraging her to write their story, the story of the volcano daughters.

Balibrera paints in broad strokes the history of El Salvador’s troubling times and how these women’s lives were affected and how they coped with the genocide, sociopolitical chaos during The General’s reign of terror and life in the diaspora. It was a bit of a stretch of the imagination where the author takes the sisters, once they escape the capitol, but I was up for the ride. Or was it a stretch? There wasn’t an author’s note indicating what was historical and where she took creative license and I felt like I needed more here. I grew to enjoy our Greek chorus of puckish ghosts which lightened up some of the heavier moments. Although, I did find the use of certain repetitive words or phrases rather annoying. Overall, I thought it was an engaging debut novel, which enlightened an important part of El Salvador’s history. I highly recommend it to those that want a compelling story of sisterhood and friendship, or fans of Central American culture, history, and magical realism.

Jill

A Novel of Sisterhood
THE VOLCANO DAUGHTERS by Gina Maria Balibrera

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC ebook to read.


A debut set in early 20th century El Salvador. Graciela and her four friends live a simple life along with their mothers on a volcano in a community of indigenous women indentured to a coffee plantation. Most of the children don’t even know who their fathers are. Graciela’s father, who was second-in-command and spiritual advisor to the the general, El Gran Pendejo, has died. Graciela, along with her mother are summoned to the capital to pay their respects. Upon arrival in the capital, the sister, Consuelo, who was kidnapped years ago is reunited with her mother and sister.

This story spans decades and follows the two sisters and their quest to flee the genocide in El Salvador, under the rule of El Gran Pendejo. A massacre of indigenous people following El Gran Pendejo’s coup d’etat leaves their childhood friends and families killed. The novel is cleverly narrated by the four childhood friends beyond the grave. The author did a brilliant job of having these four ghosts doing the narration. The sisters each believing the other is dead have crossed the globe, and reinvented their lives; ultimately reconnecting.

This is a difficult review for me to try and condense, as so much happens when spanning decades. I was pleasantly impressed by this authors debut and style of writing. A novel of resistance, survival, sisterhood, political history, lyrical, and mythical. I will definitely be following her to see what she does next.

Jill

The Volcano Daughters
THE VOLCANO DAUGHTERS by Gina Maria Balibrera

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC ebook to read.

A debut set in early 20th century El Salvador. Graciela and her four friends live a simple life along with their mothers on a volcano in a community of indigenous women indentured to a coffee plantation. Most of the children don’t even know who their fathers are. Graciela’s father, who was second-in-command and spiritual advisor to the the general, El Gran Pendejo, has died. Graciela, along with her mother are summoned to the capital to pay their respects. Upon arrival in the capital, the sister, Consuelo, who was kidnapped years ago is reunited with her mother and sister.

This story spans decades and follows the two sisters and their quest to flee the genocide in El Salvador, under the rule of El Gran Pendejo. A massacre of indigenous people following El Gran Pendejo’s coup d’etat leaves their childhood friends and families killed. The novel is cleverly narrated by the four childhood friends beyond the grave. The author did a brilliant job of having these four ghosts doing the narration. The sisters each believing the other is dead have crossed the globe, and reinvented their lives; ultimately reconnecting.

This is a difficult review for me to try and condense, as so much happens when spanning decades. I was pleasantly impressed by this authors debut and style of writing. A novel of resistance, survival, sisterhood, political history, lyrical, and mythical. I will definitely be following her to see what she does next.