Cenizas de Izalco

by Claribel Alegría, Darwin J. Flakoll

Cenizas de Izalco es la historia de un amor prohibido en el pequeño pueblo de Santa Ana, El Salvador. El telón de fondo de este amor entre un periodista norteamericano y una mujer de la burguesía salvadoreña es el levantamiento campesino lidereado por Farabundo Martí que terminó en la masacre de 1932.
Esta novela forma parte del Boom latinoamericano y ha sido libro de texto de secundaria en El Salvador desde 1970.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Womens, Latin American, Historical, 20th Century, Female Authors

209 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Clara Isabel Alegría Vides was a Nicaraguan poet, essayist, novelist, and journalist who is a major voice in the literature of contemporary Central America. She writes under the pseudonym Claribel Alegría. She was awarded the 2006 Neustadt International Prize for Literature.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Latin American version of Madame Bovary, a new addition to some of my favorite books. I was lucky to meet Claribel Aligria when she won the Neustadt Prize from World Literature Today when I was studying at the University of Oklahoma. She and her works are absolute treasures.

[Marina Channel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Debo confesar que tengo debilidad por las novelas históricas, en especial si son latinoamericanas, porque está lleno de personajes apasionados. Hombres y mujeres que son arrastrados por sus circunstancias a tomar decisiones difíciles.

Cenizas de Izalco es el descubrimiento de un pasado oculto, el pasado de la madre de Carmen, Isabel. Una mujer con la que me pude relacionar porque nunca se ha sentido realmente de un solo lugar. Su mente siempre estuvo más allá de los límites del pueblo de Santa Ana.

Enlazado a este pasado, está Frank, un escritor gringo frustrado que ha llegado a Centroamérica a encontrar algo de sentido a su vida.

La parte histórica de esta novela es un suceso terrible de El Salvador de 1932. La masacre de miles de indígenas, que desesperados por su situación, realizan la revuelta que les costó la vida.

Está muy bien escrito este libro. El ir y venir de los tiempos, la manera en la que el presente se entrelazan con los recuerdos, los diálogos internos de los personajes. Todo fue hermoso.

[Alemaria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sientes un deseo inmenso de viajar en el pasado a El Salvador de inicios del siglo XX. Muy buen trabajo

[Martha B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una novela histórica, me hizo buscar más sobre la Matanza de los campesinos en mi pequeño El Salvador, terminé de leer esta novela con un inmenso dolor y lloré por esos hombres y mujeres que son asesinados por buscar justicia social
Y pensar que muy poco hemos avanzado en este campo .
El amor de Isabel y Frank un amor imposible
Que vivieron por un momento y ambos renunciaron
No creo que Frank fuera un alcoholico buscando solo ser salvado por Isabel , el alcoholismo es una enfermedad terrible que quita la voluntad
Pero al final Frank también fue sublime en su amor al alejarse de Isabel y su familia

[Kiki Land · Rating 4 out of 5]

El final me tocó el alma. Me entretuvo de principio a fin, siento que conocer la historia de esta manera es más interesante y nutrida que leyendo puros libros de historia. Me encantó la dinámica de los dos autores, una obra que traspasa la barrera del tiempo sin perder su valor.

[James F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carmen, a young married woman living in the United States, has returned to her native city of Santa Ana in El Salvador for the funeral of her mother, Isabel. Her father, the retired and now near-invalid Alfonso, is devastated by the loss of his wife. We learn that he is a Nicaraguan who fought with Sandino against the U.S. occupation. Carmen for reasons which she doesn't understand has been given the diary of Frank, a recovering alcoholic from Oregon who visited Santa Ana in 1931-1932 and with whom her mother fell in love. He tried to get her to leave her dead-end life in Santa Ana and go with him to Paris, but in the end she decided to stay with her husband in Santa Ana. I suspect Isabel may have left the diary to Carmen as a way of encouraging her to break with her own dead-end life with her "organization-man" husband Paul. The story alternates between Carmen's present, with her brother and other relatives, and her memories of childhood, and the diary of Frank.

The story of Frank and Isabel takes place against the background of an eruption of the volcano Izalco and the revolt (and massacre) of the Salvadoran Indians and peasants under the leadership of Farabundo Marti. (I recall that in the eighties, when the Sandinista Front (FSLN) was in power in Nicaragua, the Salvadoran guerillas were called the Frente Farabundo Marti (FLMN). Both have since become opportunist electoral parties.) The novel has a feminist theme of the boredom of both Isabel and Carmen, denied any real life of their own apart from their husbands and children, in places where "nothing happens, nothing has ever changed".

This was one of the few novels of the Latin American "Boom" written by a woman author, and one of the few from Central America.

[Karen ⊰✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books reads like a very long, tragic poem. It can be confusing at times as the points of view and times shift without warning, but I soon became accustomed to it. I liked the poetic style of the writing and learning something about an area and time period I really know little about.
The ebook does need some editing as there are multiple spelling errors, but that didn't detract me from the story.

[Pi. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro bastante estandar, no sobresale ni por su estilo ni por su tema. Aún así, dado que transcurre en un lugar y sociedad totalmente desconocido para mi (Santa Ana en el Salvador), resulto interesante.

Nada especial pero siempre es chévere leer sobre nuevos lugares y entretiene bastante.

[José Zuleta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una novela vanguardista salvadoreña que nos invita a los jóvenes lectores del siglo XXI a romper con la crianza alienante y puritana que siempre ha sido implementada en la infancia salvadoreña, sobretodo en aquella que habita la zona rural.

El hilo conductor de la historia son las tensiones entre una especie de Emma Bovary (Isabel de Rojas) salvadoreña y un poeta maldito norteamericano (Frank Wolff) que, al entretejer sus caminos en búsqueda de un sentido profundo y sincero de la vida, terminan enredándose en un infierno que se desatará paralelamente al clima de tensión política y el levantamiento campesino liderado por Farabundo Martí en 1931 y 1932.

Carmen, hija de Isabel, años más tarde, luego del sepelio de esta, descubre, gracias al diario de Frank que por alguna extraña razón le ha sido heredado, un rostro de su madre que jamás sospechó que escondiera bajo la máscara de "madre, esposa y buena cristiana". Los errores de su progenitora conducen a Carmen a darse cuenta de que ella también está muerta en su interior y que su escape hacia los Estados Unidos (en busca de una mejor vida, libremente escogida) terminó llevándola de donde siempre se escapó: la aburrida y tediosa vida rutinaria (simbolizada en el rústico pueblo de Santa Ana y en los matrimonios superficiales).

La novela nos muestra una sociedad salvadoreña injusta, construida a base de apariencias, ignorante, extremadamente moral e hipócrita.

¡Una novela recomendada para empoderar a mujeres y hombres criados bajo el yugo del machismo y el tradicionalismo exacerbado!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Global Read Challenge 140: Nicaragua (This is definitely cheating because she spent so much of her life in El Salvador, but it is really hard to find Nicaraguan books in English)

This was a really beautiful and upsetting story. I agree that it shifted in time and perspective a lot, but once you got past that and realize it isn't always super important to know who is speaking, it becomes way more enjoyable. Alegria wrote this book with her husband and I had to stop myself from trying to figure out who wrote what section. This is one of those books where I would try to avoid reading the blurb/back of the book, because even though it isn't very plot heavy, there is a lot near the end that the summaries give away.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was hard to follow because the point of view shifts from person to person, and because there are so few references to the time period. It's supposed to be about the Salvadoran Civil War during the 1980s, but don't read this book if you want any historical background presented logically. I enjoyed the subjective experience of the family members, but did not find much to enlighten me about the culture, the war, history, or any of the reasons I thought I was reading. Read it if you want a little insight into a Salvadoran-American woman returning home to discover a family secret after a funeral.

[Carlo Bugni · Rating 4 out of 5]

’Hai paura di me’ mi ha detto ‘perché a me piace vivere intensamente. Non essere così paurosa’ ha implorato, ‘non tenermi sempre rinchiusa.’
«È vero o no che è un sogno strano?» Ha guardato papà con occhi di supplica, ma lui è scoppiato a ridere e le ha chiesto lo zucchero.

L’immobilismo di provincia nonostante i viaggi, nonostante gli incontri, nonostante le rivolte. Ritratto amarissimo e allo stesso tempo lettera di malcelato amore per una società asfissiante, ma capace comunque di produrre grande bellezza, di foraggiare costantemente nuova speranza.

[Rebecca Herrera Alegria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it was a little hard to read at first because of time jumping and switching narrators, I found this so tragically beautiful. The book almost reads like a glimpse into someone's life rather than a full fledged story with a beginning/middle/end, and I really liked the poetic writing style of Alegría. It makes me sad to think of the stories that get lost in families from countries where there is so much turmoil.

[A RP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cenizas de Izalco por Claribel Alegria y D.J Flakoll. Una linda y desgarradora trama sobre un amor prohibido tomando lugar dentro de uno de los acontecimientos más brutales y sangrientos de la historia de El Salvador. Aparte de la conmovedora y brusca historia narrado por el diario de Frank la dinámica literaria de historia es muy entretenida ya que nos deja con la duda de la real “cara” de la madre de Carmen. Los aspectos misteriosos y al mismos tiempos horrorosos de Santa Ana hacen ver a este pueblo como una pesadilla en la cual quien llegue a nacer ahí está destinado a pasar el resto de su vida ente las tierras negras y volcánicas de la zona. Es una obra muy grande ya que no solo narra eventos históricos sino que comparte una historia conmovedora. 🌋🇸🇻

[Rodrigo Domínguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

Alejada de los lugares comunes de la literatura centroamericana, Claribel Alegría logra crear lo que es, antes que nada, una obra de arte casi perfecta.

Este clásico entierra una verdad profunda a los pies del furioso Izalco; allí donde se encuentran pasado y presente; verdad y ficción; y lo personal y lo político.

[RaeofSunshine1297 · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was probably better than what I rated it. I just I couldn’t follow along with it very well I felt as if I was getting lost in it and confused between the different characters and all the different names and the different timelines. I felt like it was a lot of back-and-forth. For me this was a hard read.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea how or where I got this book, but I was looking for something to read and it was on my bookshelf. I'm glad fate put it there, because I enjoyed the story. It's probably the type of book I'll completely forget about within a few months, but who cares.

[MARTA Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesante

Leí esta obra está interesante, me gustó mucho , la disfruté.me transladaron a otra época muy bien escrita la ortografía está impecable !!! También las metáfora que utilizaron , muy chevere

[Margaret Peace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seminal book from this Salvadoran writer, about the life of a girl in Santa Ana. Highly recommended

[Marce · Rating 5 out of 5]

La leí hace 2 años, y sigo amando este libro.

[Karla Carrillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

La mezcla hermosa de amor y revolución

[Leslie (updates on SG) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read such lovely prose, so I am glad to have discovered this book for my AtW challenge (El Salvador). The story reminded me at times of Madame Bovary, Angle of Repose, and Under the Volcano. It will take time to synthesize all the themes.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Neither of us realized how difficult it is to build a bridge between two cultures, two backgrounds as different as ours," comes midway in this novel, and we readers continue to learn about the two narrators who unfold with each chapter. In many ways, the characters "miss" each other not only because of the different countries they reconcile but also because they hold different longings and questions. Perhaps because the recollections span various cities within Central America and the United States. This was not a huge problem for me, and I read this thinking of Alegría's life as a refugee and world citizen. Also, the distinct worlds of comfort in faraway refuges vs. pain in war-torn communities make the missed communication all the more poignant. Add issues with women's roles, religious beliefs, military corruption, and long-held but disappearing traditions, and readers have quite a bit to take in. All of this adds to the difficulty of bridging different cultures and times.

My favorite part reflected the author's distinct style. Claribel Alegría delivers magnificent imagery throughout this book; this doesn't surprise me because of her magnificent poetry which I've read and shared extensively. Whether describing the details of a Salvadorean morning, expressing the memories and pain of a child's death, or presenting small habits that fill a day yet fail to satisfy the people, Alegría creates vivid passages I enjoy "seeing" as descriptions progress. Coming to this book, I had hoped to read such beautiful passages, and the author delivered with passages like, "You would have to live in this so-called Eden a while before you noticed the weeds. . . . little by little, you feel the roots pushing down your soles, feel your arms turning into stems, your head into a flower that nods and wilts in conversations." I continued to read and delighted when these descriptions emerged. I likewise sighed when I came to understand the passages of violence, the truth of a whole "generation with blood on our hands." Perhaps the poetry Alegría has developed so well is the best way to present such challenging realities throughout our world.

[Hasmin Sherwin]

La historia empezó lento pero por fin llego a tener algunos acontecimientos interesantes cuando la trama se desenrolló.

P.70 - Carmen:
"Pero se me paran los pelos de punta cuando oigo decir a Paul y a sus amigos: 'God's country.' God's country con los negros tratados peor que animales, God's country con su complejito de superioridad hacia el resto del mundo, God's country con una escala de valores puramente materialisa y anuncios en los periódicos que dicen: Gentiles only.'"

P. 134 Cenizas de Izalco

La Sigüanaba es una mujer alta y seca, tiene el pelo negro y bien largo.
Le llega hasta las rodillas.
Le robó su marido a otra mujer y Tlaloc la condenó a caminar para siempre por la orilla de los ríos, sin hablar con nadie. Apenas oscurece se esconde entre unos matorrales y allí espera, en la sombra, a que pase un hombre a caballo. Cuando el jinete solitario se acerca, la Sigüanaba le salta en ancas a la bestia, y envuelve al hombre con sus brazos y con un grito largo y terrible. El jinete pierde en seguida la memoria. No se acuerda de nada: ni de su nombre, ni de su pueblo, ni para dónde iba, ni de dónde venía.

[SandyL · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very difficult to understand. The story kept jumping around to different times, there were so many characters who just popped up in the story, and I couldn't follow what was happening. The jist of what I think I read is that a daughter comes home to El Salvador after her mother dies unexpectedly. There are memories of the daughter, narrations by the mother and then a journal left by a young man the mother had a brief affair with. In the background there was a volcano that erupted, an uprising and a massacre. There were so many spelling and punctuation mistakes that added to the confusion of the book.

[Delta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the way this story was written; it becomes obvious pretty quickly that the author is a poet just from the sentence structure and choice of words. The story starts off very slowly, picks up speed in a few places in the middle, but it's not until the last chapter that you really see where everything was headed. The descriptions of people and events are beautiful and vivid. I really hope the spelling errors and mistakes in the book are only in my edition. It did detract from the story a couple of times.

[Jaime Rivas D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simplemente exquisita. Una vez que empiezas a leerla ya no puedes parar hasta llegar a la última página, la emoción y el interés en la novela crecen a medida que se avanza en su lectura. Tanto la narrativa, los personajes como su ambientación (El Salvador de los años 30s y los conflictos sociales de dicha época) están exquisitamente muy bien trabajados. Contiene un final inesperado y eso la hace absolutamente perfecta. 10/10

[Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al inicio me pareció un poco pretenciosa por las constantes referencias a la cultura francesa, pero la recta final ofrece una visión poderosa de lo sucedido en 1932, hilvanada con una magnífica descripción del volcán Izalco de esa época. Muy recomendable.

[Luis Funes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una lectura muy dura y dramática de una sociedad salvadoreña que parece no haber cambiado, con los mismos problemas de 1930, de 1960, de 1990 y de 2020.

[Carmenysol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia de amor intensa. Reflejo vivo de la realidad de la epoca