"After his father's death in 1993, Nítido Amán leaves Oregon, where their family has lived for years, for Guatemala, where he was born. His parents never spoke of their life in Guatemala, so he hopes to piece together their story, especially their reasons for leaving.
Upon his arrival in Río Roto, where he thinks they lived, Nítido is mistaken for the new priest, so he adopts that role in hopes of solving the puzzle of his parents' past. He gradually becomes privy to the details of what happened to the village's inhabitants - both from the confessional, where he hears the names of hundreds who died, and from those villagers who unknowingly assist in his deception. The priest from a neighboring village tells Nítido of the guerrillas who took over Río Roto and the price the village paid for harboring them. Sellers-García deftly juxtaposes Nítido's anguish over his lost past with his joy at discovering family he never realized he had in this beautifully rendered glimpse into the persistence of cultural identity even through tragedy approaching annihilation." -- Deborah Donovan
