Customer Reviews

Disappeared: A Journalist Silenced

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If you're looking for a book about an incredible female figure, this is it. I loved the way the author is able to make Irma's character come out so vividly, while at the same time giving the reader a sense of the political backdrop against which the events occurred. The book is also incredibly engaging -- it's one of those books that I keep thinking about, and wanting to jump back into. Each time I realize I have already finished it, I'm sad that I can't go home and read some more. It must have been incredibly exciting to have uncovered this story!

This is a fascinating and fantastic read. As an American living in Guatemala, it had the added benefit of helping me to understand (really, for the first time) a less chronicled but no less interesting period of Guatemala's recent history: that from 1954 to 1978.

I can't believe the way I was drawn into the world of this book. I do not have an educational background of Latin American studies. As much as "Disappeared" covers Guatemala's history, the book is also a story about a young woman who takes up journalism, and then keeps on writing, even when it threatens her safety. Without spoiling the plot, Irma Flaquer has so many opportunities to walk away from her journalistic career, but her passion won't let her. "Disappeared" is terribly haunting, but I also think it's a hopeful story, and I can't seem to get it out of my mind. As a freelance journalist myself, it has made me question the merit of the types of things I spend my time writing about.

Erlick's book is a journey through Irma Flaquer's life and Guatemala's history from the 40's to the 80's. It is also an accurate and careful reconstruction of local conflicts between government and guerrilla as well as of part of Guatemalan press freedom struggle on the 20th century. The book is filled with details and Flaquer's insights. It is impossible to put down.

This book is difficult to put down. This is a story about an amazingly brave and determined woman who was passionate about her country and her right to express herself and ended up paying for that passion with her life. Erlick has done a magnificent job of chronicling both her story and that of Guatemala during one of its most turbulant eras. She is a great writer who obviously feels deeply for Flaquer, the people of Guatemala and all of Latin America.

My unfortunate American need to have a happy ending has made Irma Flaquer's still unsolved disappearance difficult to bear. However, it was Viana Maza Chavarria's words at the end of the book that brought tears to my eyes when she acknowledged that her diverse friendships were made possible through Irma's struggle. These friends are made up of descendents of both political enemies and complacent strangers. This is the legacy that Irma has left behind! If Irma's disappearance could provoke unity in her country and make friends out of enemies then perhaps that is better than a happy ending. Perhaps that is the happy ending Irma was fighting for all along...This book is a captivating read and an inspiring journey!