Susan Garzon kehrt zu den sozialen und politischen Umwälzungen Lateinamerikas zurück, wo sie Jahre damit verbrachte, Englisch zu unterrichten und Feldforschung zu betreiben. Ihre Prosa setzt sich mit menschlicher Widerstandsfähigkeit angesichts von Unterdrückung auseinander und untersucht, wie Einzelpersonen und Gemeinschaften mit Störungen und Repressionen umgehen. Garzon stützt sich auf ihre umfassende Erfahrung, um kraftvolle, einfühlsame Porträts von Menschen zu schaffen, die in turbulenten Zeiten nach Sinn und Verbindung suchen. Ihre Werke belohnen Leser, die Literatur schätzen, die sowohl aufschlussreich als auch bewegend ist.
Set in 1978, the story follows Patricia Baldt Contreras, a doctor in New Bergen, Iowa, whose life is upended by a letter revealing that her friend Meg's son, presumed dead for twenty-four years, may still be alive in Guatemala. As Patricia embarks on a quest to uncover the truth with the help of friends Noemi and Sergio, she confronts family tensions, particularly with her brother, who seeks control of the family coffee plantation. The narrative explores themes of family conflict and the impact of political unrest in Guatemala.
In 1954, as civil war looms over Guatemala, a startling discovery at an archaeological dig triggers a series of events that threaten the lives and well-being of three women.Meg Fuente, the archaeologist's American wife, is drawn to the camaraderie and idealism of a left-wing political group, but she recognizes that she might be putting herself in danger if the progressive government falls. Patricia, the headstrong daughter of a wealthy coffee planter, is determined to excavate at the Fuentes' dig, but she must keep her labors hidden from her violent, right-wing father. And Noemi, a girl from a poor indigenous town, is able to stave off hunger thanks to her brother's salary as foreman at the dig--but some of the town Elders see the excavations as an insult to their ancestors, a mysterious group who once lived in the valley where the dig is situated.In a political atmosphere suffused with hatred and fear, a major archaeological find sets forces in motion that lead to shattering losses for the women. To survive, they must forge ties among family and friends and draw strength from centuries-old traditions.A dramatic, finely-woven tale filled with riveting historical detail, Reading the Knots is set at a pivotal time in Latin American history, when the democratic government of Jacobo Arbenz came to a violent and tragic end.
