A Year of Favor
Julia's debut novel is set during a civil war in an imaginary Central American country not unlike El Salvador or Guatemala. Narrated by a fragile reporter, Liz Guerrera is given her first chance at career success. The story meditates upon violence and the mutability of truth, using the rape/murders of four Maryknoll churchwomen in El Salvador as its inspiration.
But Guerrera’s personal flaws make it impossible for her to understand, let alone accurately report, on what is happening around her. It’s an early expression of Julia’s abhorrence of authoritarian rulers, their contradictory allure to the weak, and her sense of the vulnerability of the women compelled to work in their vicinity.
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Published by William Morrow in 1994, AYOF has been out of print for many years. The story of its publication is so nightmarish that it nearly silenced her for 20 years. No paperback was ever published and the novel, despite its good reviews in major publications, sank with hardly a trace. Hardback copies are still available through second-hand traders. And a paperback from iUniverse is available through the Authors Guild ‘back in print’ program.
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