The Memory Stones by Caroline Brothers

The Memory Stones

Caroline Brothers

During Argentina's Dirty War the Ferraro family faces death and disintegration. Was it Osvaldo's cartoons or Graciela's social work that attracted the Junta's attention? One character's long quest, another's agonising choice provided suspense that gave me a compelling, though painful, experience softened by some beautiful reflections. A chilling reminder that the evils of oppression linger, affecting lives long after its defeat.

Extract
'None of it's your fault, Osvaldo,' she says. 'The world has been upended and none of us saw it coming. What could any of us have done?'
At that instant I want so much to take her in my arms. But we only have words, and when the words run out we drift on through the silence, listening to the sound our breathing makes, and to the hollow sounds the cable makes that might be in the air or underwater, and to the quietness of the earth revolving, which is all the intimacy we have.
Parallels
  • Departing at Dawn by Gloria Lise
  • Bay of Secrets by Rosanna Ley
  • Children of the Dirty War by Francisco Goldman (The New Yorker March 19th 2012 Issue)