Una familia honorable. (An Honorable Family)

Reviewed by Catherine Rendón, Savannah, GA -- Críticas, 8/15/2008 8:59:00 AM

Cuevas Molina, Rafael.
Guatemala: F&G. 2008. 155p. ISBN 978-99922-61-77-4. pap. $23.95. FICTION

Guatemalan Cuevas Molina lives and works in Costa Rica, where he teaches at the Universidad Nacional’s Institute of Latin American Studies, and is best known as an author of travelogs, several novels, a poetry collection, and books on Central American culture. In his most recent novel, Cuevas Molina takes the family as a microcosm of a Guatemala’s protracted and vicious civil war and its aftermath. All begins placidly enough with flashbacks to happier times, family reunions at the grandparents’ house, later inherited by a spinster aunt, la tía Edith. Edith’s pecadillos (little sins) pale in comparison with those of her nephews, and she remains a stalwart of the family throughout the story. The family and the country are both undergoing socioeconomic changes, and the kidnapping and subsequent death of a family member ultimately tears the family apart. Cousins Juan and Gerardo turn out to be involved in opposite camps, but neither knows until it is too late. Gerardo leads a life of privilege with his wife and children. His wife, Patricia, eventually learns of his duplicity and the choices he made in order to reach his position. Finally, there is Edith’s “slow” son, Robertito, who maintains an innocence and ignorance. Cuevas Molina has been acclaimed for writing well about women and offering various female perspectives, but neither Edith nor Patricia offer especially compelling or significant insights. Nonetheless, Cuevas Molina is among the first to write about this period in novel form and attempt to make sense of a difficult period in Guatemalan history. Considered by critics central to the postwar preoccupations of Central American writing, this book is recommended for all libraries and large bookstores.
 
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