Acknowledgments p. ix
Introduction: Covering the Mouth of Silence p. 1
The Isthmus p. 17
A Geography of Dubious Straits: A Literature of Trauma and Redemption p. 19
The Dubious Strait p. 23
An Epic of Resistance p. 32
The Strait as Palimpsest p. 40
The Wounds of 1954 p. 45
Historical Context p. 47
Historicality in Fiction p. 52
After the Bombs p. 61
The City p. 77
The City as Metonymy for the Costs of "Progress" p. 79
El Se&nbar;;or Presidente's Liberal City and the Modern Scriptural Economy p. 85
Subverting the Cabrerista Myth p. 87
Unlivable Places and Ineffable Experiences p. 95
The Effects of a Fragmented Narrative: Community and Alienation in the City p. 109
Fragmentation and the Search for Community p. 110
The Prison Cell and the Dangers of Critical Thought p. 114
Reflections and Refractions: The Window and the Mirror p. 118
In Search of Community p. 123
Fragmentation and Alienation p. 131
The Nation p. 143
The Nation in a Global Economy p. 143
Totalizing Narratives Written from the Margin: Julio Escoto's Rey del Albor, Madruga-da p. 145
The "Truth" Behind the Scenes: A Detective's Quest p. 148
History as a Spiral of Resistance and Domination p. 159
Foundational Fictions: Reasserting National Identity in the Midst of Globalization p. 165
The Other p. 185
Negotiating Spaces for Cultural Difference p. 185
Defining a Space of Shared Cultural Identity: The Pan-Maya Cultural Movement in Guatemala p. 187
The Center at the Margin: Rethinking the Role of the Non-Maya Intellectual p. 191
Border Crossings, Narratives of Duplicity, and Unstable Selves p. 202
Healing and Revitalization through Poetry p. 214
Conclusion p. 233
Notes p. 239
Bibliography p. 273
Index p. 283