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THE BOOKS

 

Sueño en Llamas gave me a visual and chromatic first impression. I saw the novel as a mosaic of vibrate colors much like the Guatemalan textiles.  Those mosaics, in their variety and multiplicity of colors maintain the unity of the textile . That is exactly how the novel is: multiple stories from here and there, from yesterday and today, and of work and love, of suffering and happiness, of reality and fantasy, of history and myths; all threaded and lived by characters living in situations stringed by the unity of the exposition and the theme that the reader perceives at the end.

 

But Sueño en Llamas also possesses that fresh air perceived by the words that convey youth and dynamism. In this book one sees the contemporary usage of literature to capture the history of a country by novelizing the facts to let it be known to those who for various reasons ignore it. It not only shows history in a pure sense of the past but it also shows the contemporary history of the protagonists: their everyday life, their desires, their fights, their passions… all these elements make this novel a contemporary Latin-American narrative, y without a doubt, puts it on a new path for the Guatemalan literature.

 

Sara A. de Pabón

Language, Literature and Culture Spanish Professor

 

Translated by:

 Marvin DeLos Reyes

Sueño en Llamas: From the Ashes His Conscience was Born

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Sueño en Llamas: From the Ashes His Conscience was Born, by Marvin DeLos Reyes, is a surreal and deeply emotional story. The book narrates the agony of leaving home in pursuit of greener pastures.  The book undoubtedly represents the plight of Latino immigrants and highlights why many have had to leave their homes and loved ones behind, and their never-ending struggle for a better day. As each of the stories is narrated, Marvin DeLos Reyes paints a cloud of sad and surreal emotions, almost philosophical. The writing style, which sometimes feels poetic, brings out all the right emotions in this very touching story filled with suffering and endurance, but also with love.

 

Faridah Nassozi

 

Sueño en Llamas (Spanish Edition)

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In this book the words become the path where a country’s collective memory appears. A painful recollection calls out to literature: the burning of more than thirty people in the Spaniard Embassy in Guatemala City in 1980. The terrorizing story intertwines with the tenderness of the recollection of an abuela who awaits the return of her grandchildren. The characters are archetypes of hope. It was so much the historic violence that Guatemala had to live through that there is really no need for the creation of a prototype for a sinister protagonist. It was indeed devastating the life for all Guatemalans during the years of terror. Nevertheless in the words of Marvin DeLos Reyes, an abuela, two children- the mythical twins of Popol Vuh- and the friends of an immigrant to the United States are the ones who from their own wishes, rebuild hopes for the dignity of Guatemalan’s future. The Sueño en llamas, our history, Guatemala’s own is a powerful means to vindicate art, love and life. Discover in this story part of your own time.

 

armando rivera

Letra Negra

 

Translated by Marvin DeLos Reyes

 

 

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