Bernardo & The Virgin (Book Review)

“Bernardo & The Virgin: A Novel”, by Silvio Sirias, 0810122405, c2005. Sirias is a Florida State University professor, with a strong background in Latin American literature. He was raised partly in Los Angeles and partly in Nicaragua, and is familiar with bi-cultural environments and the unique life-forming experiences formed in them (and he edited a book about the writings of Dominican Julia Alvarez -author of “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents“- which is about just that). He also wrote the introduction for Nicaraguan poet Salomon de la Selva’s “Tropical Towns, And Other Poems”. Bernardo is Bernardo Martinez, a pig-farmer and sacristan in rural Nicaragua. In 1980 Bernardo, plagued with money problems and much more, finds himself witness to a miraculous light emanating from the statue of the Virgin Mary, in his local church. From this -a common man’s experience with that which he worships but perhaps doesn‘t really fully understand- Sirias crafts an epic novel, incorporating many stories about the people, politics, culture, religion, and Nicaragua itself. As broad in scope and perhaps as pretentious as that sounds, that is what Sirias attempts, and he is remarkably successful. Bernardo is indecisive, and fears public humiliation if he comes forward with his tale of the miraculous, especially given his role in the community and his inability to serve his Church in the higher capacity he once sought. Sirias’ novel is obviously classified as fiction, but it is based on the factual events pertaining to the Virgin Mary at Cuapa, Nicaragua (there is no shortage of commentary, on the internet and elsewhere, regarding such Marian Apparitions). Two things probably prevent many potential readers from starting such a book: the size (454 pages) and the Christian focal point. What Sirias has on his side, in addition to a true gift for writing, is the ability to weave people and stories, and make this tale appealing even to religiously antagonistic readers. Sirias offers a vivid, rich image of the politics, mysticism, culture, and everyday life in rural Nicaragua.