We are thrilled to announce that the July-August member-exclusive book club pick is this year’s PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize winner, Guatemalan Rhapsody by Jared Lemus. The PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize is awarded to an author whose debut collection of short stories represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise for future work. The judges’ citation about Guatemalan Rhapsody said, “Rare is the debut that arrives fully rendered and delivers a writer whose voice and talent promise even greater things to come.”
Members who RSVP will receive a suggested reading guide and weekly email check-ins. The culminating book club meeting on August 18 will feature a 30-minute Q&A with the author, followed by a moderated discussion for the book club members. You can purchase a copy of Guatemalan Rhapsody from Bookshop.org or your local bookstore. We also recommend checking to see if your local library has a copy!
This is a member-exclusive book club. If you are a member, please visit the member benefits page to access the registration link. Not a PEN America member? Join today!
Ranging from a custodian at an underfunded college to a medicine man living in a temple dedicated to San Simon, the patron saint of alcohol and cigarettes, the characters in Guatemalan Rhapsody find themselves at defining moments in their lives, where sacrifices may be required of them, by them, or for them.
In “Saint Dismas,” four orphaned brothers pose as part of a construction crew, stopping cars along the highway and robbing anyone foolish enough to hit the brakes. In “Heart Sleeves,” two wannabe tattoo artists take part in a contest, where one of them hopes to win not only first place but also the heart of his best friend’s girlfriend. And, in “Fight Sounds,” a character who fancies himself a Don Juan is swept up in the commotion of an American film crew shooting a movie in his tiny town, until the economic and sexual politics of the place are turned on their head.
Across this collection, Lemus’s characters test their loyalty to family, community, and country, illuminating the ties that both connect us and constrain us. Guatemalan Rhapsody 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. Revealing the places where beauty, desperation, love, violence, and hope exist simultaneously, Jared Lemus’s debut establishes him as a major new voice in the form.