Manlio Argueta

In this at times poetic, at times harrowing novel, Argueta traces the life of Lupe, a grandmother apparently in her 40s, over the course of one day that turns out to be an eventful one. A Salvadoran peasant, her day begins at 5:30 AM when she hears a particular bird and sees a big star reach the hole in the thatch roof of her home. Lupe's story, which is told in chapters titled by the time of day, is mixed with chapters told by other characters, including her 15-year-old granddaughter Adolfina who has become involved in farmer protests int he capital, a local boy who has joined the police and become trained for "special" services, and others. It develops over the course of the day and the novel that Lupe's husband and other men, partly under the influence of younger priests who have taken something of an activist role, have joined a Christian farmworkers organization which has, needless to say, aroused the ire of the large landowners as well as the government which is (although unsaid) supported by the US as part of the global cold war against communism (this novel presumably takes place in the 70s). Several of the men have taken to the hills, Lupe's son has been gruesomely killed, and when the police come calling no good can result. Reference is also made to the events of 1932, when a peasant uprising against a US-supported government was brutally suppressed in what became known as "the massacre."

The strength of this novel lies in Lupe's connection to the natural world and in its depiction of the horrors of this particular time and place. It's weakness lies in its expression of the politics of the situation and in some of the characters' reflections on their personal and political growth -- both tend towards the didactic and can be repetitive. In addition, I noticed a few instances where Lupe used words that no peasant who barely reached first grade would use -- "predilection," for example -- and I found these jarring.

All that said, I found much of this novel compelling, and I appreciated Argueta telling it largely from a woman's point of view (indeed, several women, if you include Adolfina's sections). It also reminded me of historical events, as part of Adolfina's story involves the occupation of the cathedral, and Archbishop Romero plays a role helping the protestors -- as those of us who are old enough remember, he was later assassinated while celebrating mass. El Salvador is once again in the news, along with other Central American countries, with its children fleeing to the US to escape violence, and it is difficult not to see that the issues confronted in this novel have repercussions today.… (more)

I liked this book because it is a bilingual book having the paragraphs written in both English and then again is Spanish. It is about a place in El Salvador and the illustrations and theme are very Spanish. I think this is a great way to include Spanish speaking students in our schools and show them that they are respected as Spanish speakers. The story is about the magic dogs that guard and take care of the villager’s. When the children are in danger they will scoop them up and float them away on a cloud. And when the adults are too hot from working in the sun they will scoop them up and carry them in a cloud then put them under a shade tree and give them water. I liked that the dogs are all white, like the white chargers that save the day. I liked that the illustrations of the village showed different scenes, villager’s in family groups, two ladies talking in a doorway and a man playing a guitar in the center of the village with the dogs all around. The land owners wanted to get rid of the dogs because they claimed the villagers were being lazy and unproductive because of the dogs. So, they sent in lead soldiers to get rid of them. The soldiers looked just like toy soldiers you see at Christmas time. The soldiers were proud of getting the job of getting rid of the dogs. They thought they were going to be the most respected soldiers in the world. I liked that the acclaim the soldiers talked about getting was to where lots of silver and go to lots of birthday parties; it was things that children would find wonderful. But of course the magic volcanoes (the magic dog’s grandparents) protected the dogs and chased away the soldiers by… (more)