The Volcano Daughters

(Hardback)

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Rich and furious, hilarious and devastating, The Volcano Daughters is the story of two sisters through and beyond La Matanza, the 1932 massacre that cost 30,000 lives and changed El Salvador forever Graciela is raised intheIzalcovolcanos, dusty-kneed and bound closely to her friends, until a messenger fromtheCapital comes to claim her: at nine years old she has been selected to work asthedictators oracle, a muse to help foreseethefuture of El Salvador. Brought totheCapital, far from her mother and friends, she meetsConsuelo,thesister shes never known. Consuelo is wilful, talented and desirous, andthesisters are a small fortress withinthedictators regime. Butthey are no match forthecruelty of El Gran Pendejoand intheaftermath of La Matanzathey barely escape, each believingtheother to be dead, fleeing to California, Paris, and beyond, to run, to reinventtheir lives, and to reconnect attheleast likely moment. Narrated by a chorus of victims of the massacre - ghost girls who have died, but who have not yet finished telling their story - The Volcano Daughters is an unforgettable story about reclaiming the truth.

Reviews

'A gripping and spellbinding novel about a sisterhood ripped apart by violence, narrated by a ghostly chorus. An unforgettable debut.'Brit Bennett, author ofThe Vanishing Half

'Inventive, surprising, and potent, I fell under Gina Balibrera'sspell from the first line...The Volcano Daughtersblew my mind withits rich humor, its beautiful portrayalof women's lives, and its unstoppable plot.'Chelsea Bieker, author ofMadwoman

'Stunning: original, magical, brutal, beautiful.A sweeping yet intimate look at love, sisterhood, and resistance in the face of devastation.' Charmaine Wilkerson, author of Black Cake

'A bilingual, mythological, and original debut about resistance and survival.' Vulture

'Adark marvel of a book... Balibrera's fusion of history and legend,puts me in mind of a young Isabel Allende.'Peter Ho Davies, author ofA Lie Someone Told You About Yourself

'Astonishing... One of the most powerful stories of motherhood, sisterhood, and survival I've ever read. A colossal achievement.' Julie Buntin, author of Marlena

'A new heir to the magical realism throne.' Seattle Times

'A gorgeous and painful tapestry, rich with history, memory...The Volcano Daughtersis a dazzling accomplishment.'Kirstin Valdez Quade, author ofThe Five Wounds

'Atowering achievement at the intersection of ancient myth, political history, and vibrant storytelling.'Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author ofWoman of Light

'Every character comes vibrantly to life inThe Volcano Daughters. Every scene surprises with unexpected tremors of questions about the legacy of political violence... Gina Mara Balibrera is a writer of tremendous imagination.'Idra Novey, author ofTake What You Need

'A captivating rendition of early-20th-century El Salvador... Riveting...The resilience of sisterly bonds forms the backbone of this swirling, heart-wrenching debut.'Kirkus

'Balibreras haunting debut traces the lives of Graciela and Consuelo, sisters who escape 1930s El Salvador in the wake of genocide and political unrest... A devastating story of sisterhood, community, and memory, quietly magical and utterly unforgettable.' Library Journal

'The Volcano Daughtersis a beautiful novel, weaving together magic and humour with tragedy and the unflinching documentary of injustice in a way that is so skilful and surprising.' Eleanor Shearer, author of River Sing Me Home

'Epic and intimate, alive and mournful,The Volcano Daughtersis an exquisite novel teeming with life, ghosts, pain, and hope. I was swept away by its lyrical, generous storytelling. What a gorgeous, moving work.'Ayegl Sava, author of The Anthropologist

Author Bio

Gina Mara Balibrera earned an MFA in Prose from the University of Michigan's Helen Zell Writers' Program, where she was also a postgraduate fellow. She has been awarded grants from the Gould Center, the Rackham Institute, a Tyson Award, the Aura Estrada Prize, the Under the Volcano Sandra Cisneros Fellowship, and is currently a member of the inaugural Periplus Fellowship cohort. The Volcano Daughters is her first novel.