The Festival of San Joaquin

by Zee Edgell

Marina, cleared of a murder charge for taking the life of her brutal husband, is released from prison on a three-year probation. Determined to rebuild her life and gain custody of her children, she is sustained by mother love and faith in God as she fights against the poverty, guilt, vanity and vengeance which threaten to overwhelm her.In this novel, set in the Mestizo community in Belize, Zee Edgell explores with sensitivity and understanding the contradictory and secret territory that is domestic violence.

Genres: Fiction

187 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 1997

Reviews

[Emilia Torres]

Me conmovió mucho esta historia ambientada en la parte rural de Belice. La historia de Luz Marina aborda temas como la violencia, capitalismo y el abuso de poder. Pero más allá de la trama, me encantó como construye los personajes y como se relacionan entre sí.

[Toni]

The journey I went on through this book will forever haunt me.

[John Benson]

This is the first book that I have read by a Belizean author. The book begins as Luz Marina is let go from prison after being put there for the murder of her husband. We do not find the particulars of the murder until the very end of the book. She decides to return to her Spanish-speaking town in the north of Belize in hopes of rebuilding her life and regain custody of her children. We find out about her struggles through poverty as she, along with her mother after the death of her father, try to rebuild her life. The back story slowly comes through. She finds people in her Evangelical church and environmental groups that help her out as she battles against her husband's family, major landowners in the area. I found the book to be very layered and one that allowed me to understand Luz Marina's struggles to rebuild her life in this real-life small community. Well-worth reading.

[Val]

Belize

[Lynn Schenk]

Good