Annie Rush has it all. A loving husband, adoring sons, an interesting job. But tragedy haunts her. Her identical twin sister died in a horrifying farm accident when the girls were nine years old, and in the wake of the grief and guilt that followed, her older brother left home for good. The death of her mother prompts Annie to seek her brother and revisit her long-lost past. Her search takes her to Oaxaca, where her brother was last seen, during the vibrant Christmas celebrations and the colorful Night of the Radishes festival; and ultimately, deep within herself.

From critically acclaimed author Sandra Benitez comes a compelling novel that takes one woman on a journey from Minnesota to Mexico in a search that tests her marriage, uncovers family secrets, and forces her to discover who she truly is. Annie Rush--a 34-year-old Minnesotan--seems to be living every woman's dream: She has an interesting job, loyal husband, and adorable sons. But just beneath the surface, a series of family tragedies haunts her, including the death of her twin sister more than three decades earlier. Her father, plagued by guilt, shot himself soon thereafter; a few years later Annie's brother Hub Hart left home for good. While they haven't had contact for decades, the death of their mother compels Annie to embark on a search for her lost sibling. Hub's trail takes Annie all the way to Oaxaca, Mexico, a town exuberant with Christmas and the Night of the Radishes celebrations. Amid the vibrant festivities, Annie is drawn to Joe, a Berkeley professor staying at the same inn. She must decide whether her love for her husband is great enough to resist Joe, and, ultimately, who was to blame for her sister's death.

Now available in paperback--"Bentez's third novel seamlessly blends fact with imagination, evoking the trauma of war more vividly than any newspaper account . . . beautifully illuminating." (Publishers Weekly starred review) Sandra Bentez received international acclaim for her first two novels: A Place Where the Sea Remembers ("A quietly stunning work that leaves soft tracks in the heart" --Washington Post Book World) and Bitter Grounds ("The kind of book that fills your dreams for weeks" --Isabel Allende). Now she returns with an unforgettable tale of life in war-torn El Salvador.

Winner of the 1998 American Book Award

Spanning the years between 1932 and 1977, this beautifully told epic is set in the heart of El Salvador, where coffee plantations are the center of life for rich and poor alike. Following three generations of the Prieto Clan and the wealthy family they work for, this is the story of mothers and daughters who live, love, and die for their passions.

Allí Donde el Mar Recuerda es un relato obsesionante de amor, ira, esperanza, y tragedia cuyos personajes subsisten mucho después de haber leído la última página. En el corazón del relato está Chayo, la vendedora de flores, y su esposo, Candelario, el ensaladero, quienes esperan que al fin Dios los bendiga con el hijo que pensaron nunca tendrían. Sin embargo, el motivo de su felicidad provoca una cadena de sucesos que marca las vidas de todos los habitantes de Santiago, una aldea mexicana. Sus esperanzas, triunfos, defectos, y fracasos hacen una impresión imborrable de un mundo en cual el destino puede depender del más mínimo hecho. Allí Donde el Mar Recuerda, un asombroso debut por una nueva voz en el género novelístico de América, es un libro que nunca olvidará.

A Place Where the Sea Remembers is a mesmerizing tale of love and anger, hope and tragedy. At the heart of this rich and bewitching story is Chayo, the flower-seller, and her husband Candelario, the salad-maker, who finally may be blessed with the child they thought they would never have. Their cause for happiness, however, triggers a series of events that marks the lives of everyone in the small village of Santiago, Mexico. Woven into Chayo's and Candelario's story are an unforgettable array of characters: Marta, the hotel maid who reads cast-off American magazines and dreams of El Paso; don Justo, the heartbroken fortune-teller; Esperanza, the midwife who finds new love with Rafael, the shy schoolteacher. Their secret dreams and desires are known only to the omniscient sea and to the curandera Remedios, a healer who hears them all. The hopes, triumphs, failures, and shortcomings of this captivating array of individuals create a picture of life that is both a universal portrait and an insider's look at life in Latin America.