Book #17: The Festival of San Joaquin - Zee Edgell
"Luz Marina, cleared of murdering her brutal husband, is released from prison on a three-year probation. Determined to rebuild her life and gain custody of her children, she perseveres, sustained by mother's love and her faith in God in her battle against the poverty, guilt, vanity, and vengeance that threaten to overwhelm her."
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This book is full of many large themes, most of which are secondary plot points - environmental profiteering, wealthy landowners and a subservient peasant class, colonialism, and an evangelical church that both helps and exploits. All of those form the backdrop to the central story, about a poor woman who murders the father of her children (he's not actually her husband, which is part of the story as well). He, in turn, was the son of her former employer, a wealthy landowner - who treated her terribly and holds the keys to her future. While the central theme of the wronged woman could certainly have taken place anywhere, the various issues circling around her were very specific to Belize. Or, at least, to that part of Latin America. Well worth the read!
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