Gorgeous range of short stories, where I wanted to have each story continue on for longer. Prose-y, well-written, deep characters and descriptions, as well as a study of Guatemala and it's interconnectedness to other parts of the world, American government, and more. I thought it was elegant, restrained, interesting, thoughtful, and just such a good read.

WOW. I can't say I've read or learned much about Guatemala, which is very much an indictment of the American education system, so this collection of short stories was quite eye-opening. I really appreciated that each story delved into the perspectives of different types of people as they experience Guatemala during the civil war (now better understood as genocide), emphasizing Guatemalan and visiting American perspectives across ages.

Reading each story felt a bit like putting together the pieces of puzzle to get at the larger picture of the history, background, and impact of this time. As expected, these are deep and unsettling stories but not in a grandiose way - instead focused on small, realistic, individual people and their experiences while exploring themes of fear, uncertainty, memory, heritage, heartbreak, fitting in, safety, and home.

Big shoutout to the short additional reading list at the end - will be diving in to learn more ASAP!

Primero quiero agradecer a NetGalley y a UPitt Press por permitirme leer este libro antes de su lanzamiento those who vanish, una historia muy cruda y sin complicaciones, un libro que cuenta la verdad tal cual fue y no tiene miedo de incomodar. Tal vez me hubiese gustado que historias como la de Martín y Abby o la de la niña que sus padres fueron secuestrados y ella vivió con su tía hayan sido las historias centrales, mucho mas largas, pero entiendo que la realidad es que la historia de Martín y la de su familia, o la de esta niña (que no recuerdo el nombre) no fueron historias largas, fueron historias cortas y trágicas, como la de toda persona que vivió durante una dictadura.

4/5, le iba a dar menos porque la historia de Fernando con su profesor gay y la de la mujer que se escapó del marido yendo a Guatemala no me llamaron tanto la atención, pero el final del libro es muy bueno y desolador, y yo a eso lo valoro !!!