Bitter Grounds : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Premise Not Fully Developed
Review: "Bitter Grounds" starts off with a bang--the juxtaposition of a beautiful poem and the senseless murder of Jacinta's father. I naturally thought that I would be learning something about a part of the world that I know very little about. As soon as Jacinta and her mother enter the employ of a wealthy plantation owner my interest dwindled. It was like a Latin American "Thornbirds" with a great deal of attention given to the romances of both the wealthy and their servants, and very little to the society in which they lived; even the glimpses of life on the plantation were frustratingly brief. The writing, too, was adequate but hardly sophisticated; I was never taken by surprise by any of the language she used, or indeed, of any of the details Benitez used to describe her characters's world. This won the National Book award? It was a kitchen sink drama masking as social commentary--a type of book that I really dislike. Three stars for an interesting topic, but if it had been part of the world that I had been more familiar with, it wouldn't have gotten that much.

Rating:
Summary: Great storytelling
Review: A very moving book, with a captivating story

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful journey and well worth the read!
Review: As a big fan of Sandra Benitez's A Place Where the Sea Remembers I eagerly looked forward to reading Bitter Grounds. What I found was a very different book although equally as satisfying and enlightening. As in A Place Where the Sea Remembers Sandra's intoxicating lyrical style leaves an indelible mark on you as you read Bitter Grounds. But in this story I felt myself being pulled much deeper into the lives of the families whose existence is inextricably connected to El Salvador's politics and coffee trade. Moving quickly, the story covers many miles, tragedies and celebrations and suddenly you're at the end-not quite ready to leave, and never able to forget the rich stories within the story. A wonderful journey and well worth the read!

Rating:
Summary: A powerful and vivid journey of strong determined women
Review: As I read this book I was taken back in time to the coffee plantations in El Salvador. Benitez is a story teller who's style takes you far beyond the written word. The celebrations and disapointments are felt with each chapter. A powerful and vivid journey of strong and determined women throughout several decades. A novel well worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Generational saga of 2 families of women in El Salvador
Review: Author Sandra Benitez wraps readers up tightly in the tale of a poor family and a rich family tied to El Salvador's coffee plantations, but don't get too cozy: the terrors imposed by gov't forces as well as the guerrilla soldiers lurks somewhere on the pages ahead. The story follows pairs of mothers and daughters caught between passion and politics.
The author grew up in the 50s in El Salvador and was a witness to the heartbreak of illiterate women who left villages and families behind to find work in the capital. Then, in the 70s, as friends and family became targets of the growing revolution, she experienced firsthand the repercussions of oppression. This is a powerful book, one that will stay with readers long after they've turned the last page and turned off the reading lamp.

Rating:
Summary: "Bitter Grounds" gives balanced view of tragedy in ES.
Review: Having been born in El Salvador in the same year as Bitter Grounds' last two heroines, I can say that this book is a rarety: one which combines truth and fiction and lays bare the soul of a people caught in tragedy and turmoil. I was mesmerized by the details of life the author chronicled concerning day to day life in San Salvador and Santa Ana, by the intimate details which revealed so much about the two worlds which exist side by side in this tiny, bustling country. Coming from a family in which my father was a self made man, ultimately the highest ranking diplomat from El Salvador and in which my mother was part of the landed aristocracy of Santa Ana, I was amazed at how Ms. Benitez was able to weave so many weighty subjects into her story and yet emerge with a fable for the ages. Had I remained in El Salvador, I wonder on which side of the fence I would have landed: Maria Mercedes' or Flor's. My father's humble beginnings pulled me one way, my mother's the other. Growing up eventually in the U. S. made that choice unnecessary, but still my roots pull at me, and this book has unlocked memories I didn't even know I had.I thank Ms. Benitez for enriching my world with her novel of times that were, times that could have been, times of unrivaled tragedy and sadness. It is the story of El Salvador.

Rating:
Summary: I can't agree
Review: Having cherished A Place Where the Sea Remembers, I was eager to read Bitter Grounds and glad that it was so much longer. I was not disappointed. This is a powerful book, reminiscent of In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, yet still a story that stands on its own. To say I was moved is an understatement. The lives of Benitez' characters are once more irrevocably intertwined and fascinating as they face the challenges of a life in El Salvador in times of military and political injustice. The strength of Benitez' women is exemplary. I highly recommend this book, one from which I take another set of priceless friends. Brava!

Rating:
Summary: One step closer to understanding
Review: Having cherished A Place Where the Sea Remembers, I was eager to read Bitter Grounds and glad that it was so much longer. I was not disappointed. This is a powerful book, reminiscent of In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, yet still a story that stands on its own. To say I was moved is an understatement. The lives of Benitez' characters are once more irrevocably intertwined and fascinating as they face the challenges of a life in El Salvador in times of military and political injustice. The strength of Benitez' women is exemplary. I highly recommend this book, one from which I take another set of priceless friends. Brava!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful haunting book
Review: I am always looking for hispanic women authors, and sometimes I am disappointed by their stories, but this was definately NOT the case with "Bitter Grounds". I was so haunted by certain parts of the book that I kept re-reading certain sections to savor the words and the sorrow of the characters.

The rich and the poor intermingle and learn from each other the value of riches that are in the heart. Wonderfully written.

Rating:
Summary: *The* most moving book I've ever read...
Review: I have just finished reading this book not 20 minutes ago and I can not see a day in the future where the story will be forgotten. My heart is aching and the book moved me to tears. The characters are a permanent part of me now and I haven't been able to sleep well the past few nights as I read this book. The story will haunt you especially when you remember that though it is fiction it is very much based on true happenings such as la mantaza and the civil war. My husband is from El Salvador and I am from the US. I have visited and fallen in love with the country. I couldn't understand why sometimes at night might husband yells out in his sleep - now I know. This is as close to war as I would ever like to get. It makes me want to reach out and embrace the little country and simply make things better. El Salvador is a beautiful country with many man-made conflicts and the book depicts that as true and honest as can be told. It opened my eyes to both sides of the conflict and told stories that many Salvadoreans still hold deep down not wishing to ever speak about again. Brava Sandra Benitez for writing a book that allowed me to know El Salvador, it's people, and essentially my husband so deeply. Dios bendiga. God Bless.