Ben Mikaelsen

#ReadAroundTheWorld #Guatemala

Tree Girl is a YA fictional retelling of historical events, set in Guatemala in the 1980s by Bolivian author Ben Mikaelsen. Gabriela Flores lives with her Mamí, Papí and family in the mountains of Guatemala until her village is brutally massacred by soldiers, shortly after her quinceañera celebration. The story outlines the ethnic tension between the Indios or Mayan Indians and the Latinos, or those with Spanish blood. During this period tens of thousands of Indigenous Guatemalans were killed or brutalised and 450 villages ruthlessly destroyed. After the bloodshed Gabriela treks to find shelter in a refugee camp and attempts to find her younger sister Alicia. She is shocked to discover the involvement of America in the Guatemalan massacres or ethnic cleansing. The US trained and supplied weapons to the soldiers allegedly in an attempt to stamp out communism, despite the tragic irony that most of the villagers had never even heard of communism and lived simple lives not opposing either America or Guatemala.

This short but powerful story gives insight into both the tragic events of the time and the way of life of the Indios. It uses occasional Quiché words and sets the scene of rural Guatemala. The content is obviously distressing, and at times presented rather starkly including descriptions of sexual violence. I found this to be an important and engaging read.… (more)