The Mexican-Nicaraguan writer Lygia Urroz presents today at the International Book Fair (FIL) from Guadalajara his new novel Because of my great faulta work that investigates the weight of hidden family stories and the way in which they shape the lives of those who inherit them, even across several generations.
In interview with 24 HOURSthe author explained that the novel arose from a persistent concern. “I was interested in exploring how the guilt that we do not choose can accompany us throughout our lives and become a shadow that conditions our decisions,” he commented. For Urroz, this narrative impulse came from a personal desire to understand the silences that marked the history of his own family.
The novel follows the life of the author’s great-great-grandmother, a woman who, according to Urroz, was raped by a clergyman at the end of the 19th century. As a result of this fact, the protagonist abandons Spain and travel to Nicaragua hoping to rebuild his life away from the imposed shame and social singling out.
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Urroz stressed that, although the family decided to remain silent about this episode for generations, facing it is crucial. “The protagonist decides to face what her family avoided for years; “This act is a break with an education based on silence,” he stated.
Guilt in Mexico has enormous cultural weight: Ligia Urroz
Write Because of my great fault It involved for Urroz a profound process of reviewing his own understanding of the past and of guilt as a social and religious construction.
“Guilt in Mexico has enormous cultural weight; It is linked to religion, morality and expectations that fall above all on women,” he noted.
The author explained that, when researching her ancestor’s history, she discovered parallels
disturbing differences between the pressures of the 19th century and those that remain in force today. For her, this feeling can be oppressive, but also a trigger for change.
The novel combines emotional intimacy with a narrative structure that accompanies the reader through archives, memories and family revelations. Urroz commented that he wanted the reading to reflect the gradual discovery of buried truths.
“I don’t want the public to be left with only the pain; I am interested in showing the emotional complexity and the possibility of transformation,” he explained. The story, he said, goes through violence, resilience and the search for an identity beyond inherited guilt.
Additionally, Por mi gran culpa addresses family roles, social pressure, and the mandate to keep up appearances, elements that, according to Urroz, have plagued the women in her family for decades.
“There is a point in life when you wonder if your decisions are your own or a continuity of what was imposed on you; that question runs through the entire book,” he said. In that sense, the novel also functions as a gesture of symbolic reparation.
Present the work at the FIL Guadalajara For the author, it represents a personal milestone and emotional closure. “Bringing this story to the FIL It is symbolic; “After so many years of work, I feel like I can finally share it without fear,” he expressed.
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Because of my great fault is presented today as part of the official programming of the literary meeting by the editorial Hachette Livre México. During the session, Urroz will talk with readers about the creative process, family research and the emotional background that shaped this novel built from memories, silences and wounds that the official story never told.
What you should know about Because of my great fault
Screenwriter Ricardo Arriaga also wrote the back cover, whom the author met at a FIL and who has praised her work, in addition to giving her recommendations taken into account for this novel.