Bitter Grounds
by Sandra Benitez
List Price: $15.99
Pages: 464
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0312195419
Publisher: Picador USA
In 1932 El Salvador, Elena de Contreras and her husband Ernesto live the luxurious life of
the very wealthy: regular trips to Europe and the United States, vast amounts of property,
several gorgeous homes. In sharp contrast to their privileged existence, however, are the
lives of the coffee workers they employ, who know only the hardships of back-breaking
labor and low wages.
Mercedes Prieto, a Pipil Indian, comes from such a background. After losing her son and
husband in the aftermath of a violent uprising against rich plantation owners, she flees
with her daughter Jacinta to work in the household of Elena de Contreras.
Their arrival sets in motion a spellbinding story that takes three generations to unfold,
as the two families become inexorably intertwined and their private turmoil mirrors the
upheaval of the world around them.
Rich in history, tradition, color, and drama, Bitter Grounds is at once poetic and
unsentimental, a page-turning saga that satisfies and entertains to the very last drop.
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1. How do the generations change, in their attitudes, beliefs, aspirations? Consider the world events surrounding these characters during the span of the novel, from 1932 to 1977: How are outside forces (economic depression, war, worker rebellion, civil unrest) reflected in their daily lives?
2. What is the significance of "Los Dos," the daily radio soap opera-both its content and the rituals of its audience?
3. Coffee provides a way of life in El Salvador. What is its role in the lives of these characters, symbolically and literally?
4. There are elements of magic realism to this story. Discuss examples of magic realism and their role in the story: do you think the departure from reality adds to or detracts from your belief in these events? Why do you think the author chose to include them? Other writers (Laura Esquivel, Isabel Allende, Gabriel García Márquez, to name a few) have also used this effect; if you've read their work, compare it to Bitter Grounds, or discuss if or why Latin American writing lends itself to magic realism. Do any North American writers try their hands at it?
5. "In years to come, when she thought of this moment, Elena would know that it was here, at this time-standing around the bend of Cecilia's lake house, the dying sun pouring itself into the blue bowl of the lake-that her life was forever divided into its own before and after." (page 130) Discuss other characters whose lives take equally dramatic and irreversible turns.
6. Bitter Grounds depicts the sharp differences between the lives of the rich and the poor. But the two classes also shared much in common. In what ways were they alike?
7. As the poor turned to the left for help politically, the rich turned to the right, and this polarization eventually led to a tragic civil war. Who do you think is to blame for the failure to find a middle ground?
8. Women writing about women are sometimes accused of doing so at the expense of their male characters. Discuss the role of men in this novel and how you feel they are portrayed.
9. What did you find interesting about mother/daughter relationships in Latin America? And how do these differ, if at all, from the way things work in our country?
10. In the final analysis, who were the winners and who were the losers in Bitter Grounds?
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" Grabs us at the most visceral level . . . .Benítez's clear writing and considerable imagination enable her to make the political personal, luminous, and even comic. "
-Ms.
"Packs an emotional punch . . . .A compelling read. "
- Boston Globe
"Explores passion, politics, love, death, and betrayal in an intricately plotted mystery . . . . Moving and lyrical. "
- Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Engaging and involving . . . .Packed with exquisite detail . . ..entirely captivating. "
- Austin American-Statesman
"It's hard not to get hooked. "
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"A story of passion, politics, death, and love . . . .This is the kind of book that fills your dreams for weeks. "
- Isabel Allende
" A vivid chronicle of strong women facing the challenges of living in sad and violent times. "
- Kirkus Reviews
