Redemptions: A Costa Rican Novel

Carlos Gagini's novel "El árbol enfermo" (here translated as "Redemptions") is a classic novel of Costa Rica, first published in 1918. This is the first English translation, and one of the few Central American novels available in English. Set in and around San José during the first years of the twentieth century, when the influence of the United States-economic, political, military, and cultural-was intensifying rapidly, "Redemptions" tells the story of the seduction and betrayal of a young Costa Rican woman (and symbolically of her country and region) by a North American entrepreneur. In the same genre as novels and essays by Uruguayan José Enrique Rodó and Mexican José Vasconcellos, "Redemptions" is a work of cultural nationalism which urges Costa Ricans to take pride in their traditions, to resist the encroachment of outside forces, and to recognize and solve their own problems. Originally published in 1985.