A Silence Full of Whispers

Gioconda Belli

NOVEL, PLANETA. 2024, 344 PAGES

Valeria made great sacrifices in her commitment as an active protagonist of the political changes in her country, Nicaragua. After her death in Madrid, in complete solitude, it is up to her daughter Penelope to travel to Spain and take care of her material possessions. Surrounded by the belongings of a mother she always felt absent, Penelope will solve unexpected mysteries and learn about the exciting life of a woman marked by triumphs and defeats, clandestinity and the vicissitudes of love. In the silence of the home, Valeria's voice will resurface like a murmur that will accompany her forever.
With her renowned mastery to delve into the psychology of the characters, Gioconda Belli draws inspiration from the great classical myths to show a generational conflict between two women who refuse the passivity of female roles and must face guilt and social prejudices. A silence full of Whispers is a thrilling novel about the anxiety of family secrets and the personal costs of political commitment for a mother and her daughter.
Exiled in Madrid since 2022, Belli has written this novel from her own experience as a mother and as a militant who has lived through the rise and fall of the revolutionary dream. «The children of those of us who were involved in the revolution suffered a kind of abandonment. That of the fathers was accepted. Another thing happened with the mothers. That maternal absence burdened both parties with a very painful level of reproach and guilt. I have thought of my daughters in writing this novel,» Gioconda Belli.

«An intense and disturbing novel of intrigue that unites the historical and the most intimate, told with the passion of a great storyteller.»

Rosa Montero

PUBLISHED BY: Spanish PLANETA

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