Breathe To Read

Breathe To Read

Friday, January 31, 2020

Read The World - El Salvador - Bitter Grounds

Book: Bitter Grounds
Author: Sandra Benitez
Pages: 464
Book takes place in the country: YES
Author is from the country: YES
I have visited: NO


This is my 12th book for the year

I have chosen a lot of larger books to start off the year.  I think that might be a theme with a lot of the remaining books I have for this challenge - I seemed to have put off not only the ones the most difficult to obtain, but also the largest.



This book takes place from the years 1932 to 1977 in El Salvador.  It follows the Prieto Clan and the wealthy family they work for.  The story mostly revolves around the women and their daughters of these two families as they grow, change, and intertwine.  Each family - servant and master, rich and poor - have their tragedies that cannot be avoided due to El Salvador's civil war.

I thought this was a pretty good book.  I love stories that involve generations of families and the passage of time.  To watch the women at the beginning of the book become the grandmothers in the end, and their families growth inbetween held my attention.  It was a well told, well written book that captured many things I didn't know about the Civil War in El Salvador.  The story is filled with a lot of loss and heartache for these families, but also love.  A poor servant girl's daughter and a wealthy master's daughter grew up in the same house and became just like sisters until their adult lives took them in different directions.  A feud between two best friends lasted 30 years before it was almost too late for forgiveness.  A lost brother is found.

Good tale with good character development.  I am glad I found this one.

Stars: 4


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