Gioconda Belli novelizes the silenced voices of repression
The Nicaraguan poet presents her novel “A Silence Full of Murmurs.” The work “is about the human conflict of how much one sacrifices for a dream.”
HAVANA TIMES – Nicaraguan poet and writer Gioconda Belli presented her new novel “A Silence Full of Murmurs” in San Jose, Costa Rica, which tells the story of a mother and daughter who, in different times, fight against two dictatorships in Nicaragua: the Somoza regime and the Ortega regime.
“After the death of her mother (Valeria), the daughter (Penélope) discovers her mother’s story through documents and objects that help her reconcile with her, for the resentment she felt because her mother dedicated herself to the revolution and not to her,” Gioconda Belli told CONFIDENCIAL during the presentation of her book on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at the Spanish Cultural Center.
The author explained that the title of the novel “is dedicated to the voices silenced by repression, which always find ways to make themselves heard and to continue resisting.”
Nicaragua is portrayed from beginning to end in her book, explains Belli. “It appears in the story from the time of the 1979 revolution to the 2018 rebellion. It is not a novel about the history of Nicaragua, nor a political novel; it is about the human conflict of how much one sacrifices for a dream,” she stated.
“And on the other hand, what happens when that dream unravels and how to keep hope after your dreams have been shattered,” she continued.
The character of Penelope is a Nicaraguan writer and journalist who flees from the repression of Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo. The story delves into the emotional difficulties experienced by Nicaraguans who participated in the 2018 rebellion: from family separation, exile, grief, and banishment to how to resist from silence.
Exile marks Gioconda Belli’s writings
“A Silence Full of Murmurs is an emotional novel about the anxiety of family secrets and the personal costs of political commitment for a mother and daughter,” reads the book description on the Amazon website, where it is sold for $37.
The novel is also available at Costa Rica’s “Librería Internacional” stores.
Gioconda Belli’s exile has influenced her writings in recent years. This particular story was marked by many events in her life: her experiences in Nicaragua during the 2018 social upheaval, the confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and especially her exile in Spain.
The poet believes that in Nicaragua, there is not a sense of hopelessness or disillusionment, but “fear.”
“The great libertarian impulse that took place in 2018 ended with such repression that now everyone is afraid, and Ortega and Murillo have managed it very well, to keep us all in a kind of mental and physical prison,” the poet said.
First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.