atacama a NOVEL
From the saltpetre fields of northern Chile to a dance studio in Valparaíso, and on to Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War and Pablo Neruda's consular office in Paris, Atacama is moving, poignant and absorbing. At its centre are the inter-twined stories of an unlikely pairing: Manuel Garay, the son of a union leader and an organizer of working-class women; and Lucía Céspedes, the daughter of a fascist army officer and a socialite. A fateful turn of events results in the protagonists befriending each other at age twelve. From then on, the narrative switches deftly between the two, as it takes us from the 1920s to the 1940s, and to a surprise ending in present day Vancouver.
Beautifully crafted, Rodríguez's novel is ultimately a story about the power of writing and the power of art, both to dramatize grief and to encourage remembrance. As drama and remembrance, Atacama succeeds admirably.
Press Coverage of Atacama
The Vancouver Sun, The Calgary Herald, The Winnipeg Sun, The Montreal Gazette,
The Ottawa Citizen, and sixty-five other Postmedia publications across Canada.
Reviews
- Atacama a character-driven struggle for a just society. The Vancuver Sun
- The Peak
- New York Journal of Books
- BC BookLook
Interviews
retribution
When Tania, a thirty-six year old Vancouver artist receives a letter suggesting that her biological father may not be the man she has always known as such, her world turns upside down. As she struggles to understand the implications of this news and delves into her family's complex past, Tania discovers the ultimate retribution that her life represents. Women's Press Literary (an imprint of Three O'Clock Press), Toronto, 2011. International Latino Book Awards, 2nd Place, Best Popular Novel Category
Retribution was awarded Second Place in the Best Popular Novel Category at the 2012 International Latino Book Awards in NYC.
Chiles døtre-roman
Retribution (Noreguan Version)
Oslo, Juritzen Forlag, 2013
Tanias liv snus på hodet da hun får brev fra en dommer i Chile. Han forbereder rettsaken mot en av militærkuppets verste torturister og ber om en DNA-prøve. Han hevder at mannen som torturerte moren, er Tanias biologiske far. I jeg-form forteller Tania, hennes mor og bestemor om sine dramatiske liv med lengsler, kunst, kjærlighet, lykke, frihetskamp og politisk vold. Vi følger livet til familien Martinez gjennom 70 år. Fra deres liv før militærkuppet i 1973 til tiden som fulgte, deres flukt til Canada som politiske flyktninger, og tilbake til Chile. Tre stolte kvinner som er både like og ulike.