Guatemalan Rhapsody: Stories - Jared Lemus - ★★★.½

AUTHOR: Jared Lemus

GENRE: Short Story Collection, Literary Fiction.

PUBLICATION DATE: March 4, 2025

RATING: 3.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A literary short story collection about ordinary life in Guatemala. Character-driven tales, multi-faceted writing, varied circumstances and characters. The endings and some of the plot inclusions were not my cup of tea. This is a stunning debut, even if it wasn’t exactly my kind of book.

This collection of twelve stories is the first time I have explored an OwnVoices work from Guatemala. (That was the prime reason for grabbing this book!) The result has been rich and complex.

My copy doesn’t come with an author’s note offering a clue about the theme of this collection. However, the blurb states that the book “explores how we journey from the circumstances that we are forged by, and whether the ability to change our fortunes lies in our own hands or in those of another.” I find this an accurate estimation of each story’s core intent.

The writing is impeccable. At no point did I feel like I was reading a debut work. The author has created an eclectic array of characters coming from varied age and work profiles. However, none of the characters are from wealthy backgrounds or high-profile professions. They are mostly from poor or middle-class upbringing, striving to go beyond their circumstances, but often stumbling on this journey.

Despite this seemingly repetitive concept of characters desperate to get out of their current mire, the plots are distinct. None of the stories created a déjà vu kind of feel. Plus, the characters’ attitudes also vary even when their goals are similar. Some are cocky, some disheartened, some courageous, and some just plod along the path life takes them on.

As the focus is mainly on the characters, we don’t get to see much of the locale of Guatemala. However, there are many stories with references to the social situation, the cultural beliefs and the traditions of this Central American country. These don’t always offer a pretty picture, but considering that this is an OwnVoices work, the tone is genuine without being degrading. The underlying feel is always of hope even when the circumstances are of despair.

There is a good mix of first-person and third-person POVs across the stories, but one story comes from the second-person POV. While this narrative voice is usually my favourite, this particular story didn’t impress me much as the identity of the “you” was too fuzzy.

While most of the above usually works in my favour, I didn’t enjoy this collection as much as I had hoped to. For one, every single story is from the male perspective. Female characters, if present, are in limited roles. Further, many of the males resort to alcohol and drug usage and also use obscenities – this might be realistic but it is not in my comfort zone of reading. All of this, I would still have taken in my stride as the result of a genuine male writing voice, but what I couldn’t overlook was the endings. A majority of the stories have abrupt ends. Again, open endings are fine for me as long as they offer some clue about what might happen next or if they pause on a ray of hope. But many of the stories herein stopped with no warning about the fate of the character. I’d have preferred to have closure, especially considering the poignancy and inherent danger of some of the stories.

As always, I rated the stories individually. My ratings went all the way from 2.5 stars to 5 stars, mostly dependent on the endings. Had the endings offered me satisfaction, my ratings would easily have been higher. These were my top favourite stories with 4+ stars:

🤩 Ofrendas: What kind of offering is enough to save a soul? Begins ordinary, ends chilling. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🤩 Whistle While You Work: A group of custodians try to retain their jobs by any means possible. Would have rated this higher if it had a better ending. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🤩 Saint Dismas: A well-written story about how needs dominate wants. Loved the grittiness of this one. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🤩 Caídas: An excellent story about an old man living with the shadows of his past. Would have been a 5 star for me had the ending offered me more. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🤩 Fight Sounds: A man who doesn't realise what he has until he loses it. Liked the mix of humour and seriousness. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🤩 Scrimmages: A group of teenagers gets an international football player as their team coach. But things aren't as they appear. My favourite story of the book, with its excellent portrayal of life and its vicissitudes. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

All in all, this would be a great option for short story lovers who are fond of literary fiction and are okay with male-dominated narratives. The character-driven storytelling, the OwnVoices factor, and the realism of the tales ought to override the issue with the endings.

3.5 stars, based on the average of my rating for each story. (Rounding up wherever applicable because I know the lower rating is partly due to my reading preferences regarding adult content.)

My thanks to Ecco for providing the DRC of “Guatemalan Rhapsody” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.