Gioconda Belli: "70% of fiction books are read by women."
A Silence Full of Murmurs (Seix Barral), the latest novel by Nicaraguan writer Gioconda Belli , is, according to the writer, a tribute to the daughters and sons of the generation that participated in the revolutions in Latin America. But also, in her words, a way of dealing with " disillusionment , which I believe is something that all of us in Latin America who had hope that another world was possible carry with us."
The Nicaraguan author, a key figure in contemporary Latin American literature , is in Buenos Aires to present this new novel, which concludes the trilogy she began with The Inhabited Woman and The Country Under My Skin. Written during the pandemic, it centers on Penelope, the daughter of a revolutionary mother , and is a tribute to the generations who grew up surrounded by the echoes of social struggles.
In an interview with Clarín , Belli reflected on the impact of the revolution on family relationships , the connection between literature and social transformation, and the essential role of women as creators and readers. From her exile in Spain , she reaffirms her commitment to literature as a tool of resistance and hope in the face of current challenges.
–“The children of those of us who were involved in the revolution suffered a kind of abandonment. The abandonment of their fathers was accepted. It was a different story with their mothers. That maternal absence burdened both parties with a very painful level of blame and guilt. I thought about my daughters while writing this novel,” you said about A Silence Full of Murmurs . Why do you think this happens?
–Because men were allowed everything, they didn't even think twice: they were the ones who waged war, the ones who made up the government. Men have always had a very accepted public life; it's what was expected of them. On the other hand, women didn't. For us, it was the private, domestic sphere. We were thrust into that small world because, as lovely as raising our children is, it really is a limited world. So if a woman participated in a revolution, for example, there was always a burden of guilt, both socially imposed and self-imposed. This book is very important to me because it concludes a trilogy that began with The Inhabited Woman and continued with The Country Under My Skin. And this novel deals with how to resolve, to some extent, the issue of disillusionment, which I think is something we all carry in Latin America who had hope that another world was possible. I was extremely fortunate to experience the triumph of the revolution in '79, which was a gift from life. But then we were deeply disappointed because we never expected the terrible repression that followed, which now has me, for example, in exile. Most of us abandoned Ortega when he began to betray what we considered the ideals of the revolution. They've taken away my nationality, declared me a traitor to the country, without evidence, without a trial, without the right to a defense. They've taken away my home, my pension.
Most of us abandoned Ortega when he began to betray what we considered to be the ideals of the revolution.
–Where is that hope today?
–I think we're entering a dark period in history with people we would never have accepted in the past: someone like Trump winning the election in the United States, Milei winning the election in Argentina, Ortega still governing in Nicaragua. I think projects need to be analyzed and we need more creativity to imagine what might come next.
Writer Gioconda Belli in Buenos Aires. Photo: Juano Tesone.
–How did you work to interpret the voice of Penelope, the protagonist of the story, daughter of Valeria, the revolutionary?
–I started the novel during the pandemic. I had a lot of work, and Penélope captured my attention. When you start writing a novel, you don't always know what you're looking for. I knew a little bit that I wanted to find solace, to see how to manage that disappointment, but at the same time, I didn't know how, and I didn't want to do it from my own perspective. I've always had my daughters in mind; I've had long conversations with them (you can imagine it wasn't easy for them), and then I thought: why not give them recognition? And not just them, but all the young people who lived with their parents during those processes and who had to endure pain, suffering, and isolation. It seemed right to acknowledge that other side of these great heroic acts, so to speak, because there is heroism on the part of our children as well. I also wanted to leave a testament to the pandemic because it seemed like a very important moment. I didn't want it to take center stage, but I did want it to serve as a framework.
–A framework for loneliness?
–I thought of it as a moment in which the protagonist is constructed within silence, reconciliation, and finding her mother's roles. I really like gothic novels, so I added a bit of mystery to it as well.
–It's a novel in which, like your previous books, women weave networks among themselves to support and accompany each other.
–I'm always bothered when men, especially, have this narrative that women are worse than each other. And I think that's absolutely false. The times I've needed support, gotten sick, been depressed, who has saved me? My female friends. And I think women, in that sense, have a profound capacity to understand others, because in some way we all live similar lives, suffer similar things. I've traveled a lot with my novels, and what surprises me is meeting women in Italy, France, and Holland who feel represented.
–How has your work been received in other countries around the world, given that it has been translated into more than 20 languages?
–We are all bound by a geography and a history, but I think what unites us is the human experience, not just of women, but also of the men who appear in the novels.
–What are you working on now?
–Right now I'm thinking. I'm not working on anything in particular yet. I have several ideas, because fortunately I still have plenty of ideas, so sometimes what I do is write 50 pages, and if I'm hooked by the 50th page, I think I'm doing well. But I haven't started yet; I have a long story that I want to see where it goes.
I have a love affair with Argentina that stems from my readers, and I look forward to meeting those people face to face.
–What are your expectations for the Book Fair?
–I look forward to meeting my readers. I have a love affair with Argentina that stems from my readers, and I look forward to meeting those people face to face. It always gives me enormous joy to be in a room where you see people reacting to what you're saying, and it's truly impressive. When you think about how lonely the profession is and how you suddenly realize the impact your words have had, it's an amazing thing.
–Is it at these gatherings that you realize how your readers have transformed with your books?
–And how reading has transformed me. I wouldn't be who I am if I hadn't read the books I read.
Writer Gioconda Belli in Buenos Aires. Photo: Juano Tesone.
–And which ones transformed you?
–From Jules Verne, who made me open the doors of my imagination, to all the English novels, Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and then Virginia Woolf, who is my great teacher, I adore her. I was also transformed by books like The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon, which changed my life, and Hopscotch by Cortázar, whom I had the enormous pleasure and privilege of meeting when I was a judge for the Casa de las Américas Prize, and he was on the jury that same year. Julio went to Nicaragua a lot, and we became friends. He was such a kind and noble person, as well as a great writer. I was recently in Austin, Texas, where there is one of the most important collections of Latin American literary manuscripts, and I held the Hopscotch manuscript in my hands. I was also fascinated by Borges, García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, Donoso: the Boom was hugely important in my life.
–Which female writers do you like?
–Luisa Valenzuela, Mariana Enriquez, Claudia Pineiro, Camila Sosa Villada, Samantha Schweblin, Gabriela Cabezon Camara, Fernanda Trias, Pilar Quintana, Paulina Flores, Marcela Serrano. We have some tremendous writers.
–Do you think culture can be one of today's beacons?
–Yes, and women: I think we contribute so much to the way we see the world and to literature. We've been silenced for so long… In Spain, where I live now, I'm impressed by the number of book clubs, and they're all women: 70% of fiction books in the world are read by women. We have the intelligence to appreciate the beauty of imagination.
- She was born in Managua, Nicaragua. Winner of the Biblioteca Breve Prize and the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize for her novel The Infinity in the Palm of the Hand (2008), she is also the author of the iconic novel The Inhabited Woman (1988), which won the German Booksellers', Librarians' and Publishers' Prize for Political Novel of the Year and the Anna Seghers Prize from the Academy of Arts.
Writer Gioconda Belli in Buenos Aires. Photo: Juano Tesone.
- Her other novels include Sofía de los presagios (1990), Waslala (1996), El pergamino de la seducción (2005), El país de las mujeres (2010, La Otra Orilla Prize), El intenso calor de la luna (2014), and A silencio llena de murmurlos (2024). She has also published El país bajo mi piel (2001; 2024), her memoirs during the Sandinista period. Her poetic work has received the Mariano Fiallos Gil Prize in Nicaragua, the Casa de América Prize in Cuba, and the Generación del 27 and Ciudad de Melilla prizes in Spain.
- In 2011, Seix Barral published the poetry anthology Honey Scandal. She is also the author of the essay collection Rebellions and Revelations (2018) and three children's stories: The Butterfly Workshop (2004), The Tight Embrace of the Vine (2006), and When Laughter Blossomed (2017).
- A recipient of the 2018 Festival Eñe Award for her lifetime achievement, the Hermann Kesten Prize for her commitment to human rights, and the 2023 Queen Sofía Prize for Ibero-American Poetry, she has also received the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and is president of PEN Nicaragua. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages.
Gioconda Belli will be at the Book Fair this Saturday at 7:00 PM, participating in the Central America Cuenta series at the Buenos Aires Book Fair alongside Luis Chaves (Costa Rica), Luis Lezama (Honduras), and Melisa Rabanales (Guatemala) in the Alfonsina Storni Room. And tomorrow, Sunday, at 7:00 PM, she will present her new book in the Julio Cortázar Room.
Clarin
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