Guatemalan Rhapsody- An Interview with Author Jared Lemus
A few months ago, Troy from Antigua Books was telling me how knocked out he was by Guatemalan Rhapsody, a debut short story collection by Jared Lemus. After reading some glowing reviews, I reached out to Jared.
Born in Queens, New York, and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, with intermittent stints in Guatemala, Jared Lemus had a tough upbringing. Having lost his belief in God, he was kicked out of his parents’ ultra-Christian household and was taken in by his grandparents. He never reconciled with his parents.
Guatemala is never far from Jared Lemus. He sees it as “getting back to my roots”.
“My grandmother was like a healer in her village. She kept Mayan rituals: cleansing and remedies. The duality of these Mayan rituals and the bible had a big influence on me.”
As a former bass player, Jared Lemus traded making music for music on the page. Guatemalan Rhapsody can be seen as a kaleidoscopic view of Guatemalans and Guatemala, a rhapsodic movement, all part of the same whole, tuned to the key of the country and its people. The stories feature a range of workers: a village launderer, a van driver, a truck driver, campus custodians, an aspiring tattoo artist, and others, all of whom are underpaid and overlooked.
“Everybody in Guatemalan Rhapsody finds themselves at a decision point where they pick one route or the other from there; the rest of their lives will never be the same again. These are people who like us, are not necessarily bad people and are trying to do their best. And sometimes to come out ahead, we make questionable choices or decisions that may impact the people around us but may help us get a leg up.”
“ In one of the stories of Guatemalan Rhapsody, there are four orphans who are highway robbers. And yes, you would think it’s not a nice thing to do. But when you learn about their backstory, and how they became orphans. The question I ask the reader is: Do you think these orphans would rather be robbing people beside the highway or playing Lego and watching television? Of course, they wouldn’t be choosing the former. It’s the situation that shapes people. I feel the environment is making it impossible to make the ‘right’ choices.”
Jared Lemus is currently working on his debut novel, “Magic in the Land of Eternal Spring”. In the meantime, you can find copies of Guatemalan Rhapsody at Antigua Books.
Jared Lemus was interviewed by Scott Stanton.
