Description
The year is 1982 and the Mayan genocide is at its bloodiest. Ava, the daughter of a Ladino meat-shop owner and his bed-ridden wife, marries a Mayan radish farmer known as “K.” After K disappears alongside thousands of indigenous Maya, Ava hides with their daughter, Olivia, inside their cornstalk house in the town of Peña Blanca. When Olivia is infected with lesions, Ava must venture outside for the first time in months and bear witness to the lingering spirit of the disappeared. Inspired by the unrelenting immigrant spirit and one nation’s own brokenness, The Quiet Yellowing of Birds is a novel interspersed between Ava’s privileged past and her harrowing present, between the highlands of Guatemala, the refugee camps of Campeche, and the cacti-lined cul-de-sacs of Arizona. Written in both the past and present tense, this novel is a reflection of Guatemala’s fractured narrative, of the nonlinear immigrant experience.
Details
Title
- The quiet yellowing of birds
Contributors
- Alvarez, María Isabel (Author)
- Rios, Alberto A. (Thesis advisor)
- Bell, Matt D. (Committee member)
- Ison, Tara (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2017
Subjects
Resource Type
Collections this item is in
Note
- Includes vita
- thesisPartial requirement for: M.F.A., Arizona State University, 2017
- Field of study: English
Citation and reuse
Statement of Responsibility
by María Isabel Alvarez