The Memory Stones
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
The compelling story of a young woman's disappearance in 1970s Argentina, a story of family tragedy--and national tragedy--with consequences echoing through generations.
Buenos Aires, 1976. In the heat of summer, the Ferrero family escapes to the lush expanse of Tigre. Osvaldo, a distinguished doctor, and his wife Yolanda gather with their daughters, sensible Julieta who lives with her husband in Miami, and willful Graciela--nineteen, radiant, and madly in love with her fiancé, José. It will be the last time they are all together.
On their return, the military Junta stages a coup, and Osvaldo is forced to flee to Europe as friends and colleagues disappear overnight. When José is abducted, Graciela goes into hiding; when she and her friends are dragged from an apartment by plainclothes policemen, the devastating reality of the Junta is no longer remote. Osvaldo can only witness the disintegration of his family from afar, while Yolanda fights on the ground to find and reclaim their beloved daughter. Soon they realize they may be fighting for an unknown grandchild as well.
The Memory Stones commemorates the thousands of Argentinians--the Disappeared--who fell victim to the brutality of the period, the effects of which are still being felt today. Following one family seeking to rebuild itself after unimaginable loss, it is the story--both heartbreaking and inspiring--of a country striving to survive even in the face of terror.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in Buenos Aires in the mid 1970s and Mexico City in the late '90s, Brothers's (Hinterland) novel moves back and forth between the final meeting of the Ferrero family at their coastal getaway Tigre a quiet time before a storm of violence seizes Argentina and the aftermath of their life after the political storm has swept through. Osvaldo Ferrero, a respected doctor, and his wife, Yolanda, escape to their beach home for a few days with their daughters the older, dispassionate Julieta (in her 20s) and youthfully ardent Graciela (19), who is madly in love. These will be the final days the family ever spends together. On their return to Buenos Aires, the Argentine military stages a coup. Friends vanish overnight, and Osvaldo is forced to flee. When Graciela and her fianc are abducted, Osvaldo must helplessly stand aside as the political turmoil unfolds. But Yolanda takes to the streets to look for a clue pointing to the location of Graciela. As her sleuthing takes an unexpected turn, Yolanda believes she might also be looking for a grandchild she's never met. Brothers's harrowing novel tells the disturbing story of the Disappeared thousands of Argentinians who were kidnapped or murdered during the '70s in Argentina with verve and grace. Depicting the despair and hope of a family recovering from the horrors of military rule, it is a devastating portrait of a country in the grip of true terror, and the long, dark shadow such systemic violence leaves behind.
