The Surrendered: Reflections by a Son of Shining Path - Hardcover

by José Carlos Agüero (Author)

When Peruvian public intellectual José Carlos Agüero was a child, the government imprisoned and executed his parents, who were members of Shining Path. In The Surrendered--originally published in Spanish in 2015 and appearing here in English for the first time--Agüero reflects on his parents' militancy and the violence and aftermath of Peru's internal armed conflict. He examines his parents' radicalization, their lives as guerrillas, and his tumultuous childhood, which was spent in fear of being captured or killed, while grappling with the complexities of public memory, ethics and responsibility, human rights, and reconciliation. Much more than a memoir, The Surrendered is a disarming and moving consideration of what forgiveness and justice might mean in the face of hate. This edition includes an editors' introduction, a timeline of the Peruvian conflict, and an extensive interview with the author.

Author Biography

José Carlos Agüero is an essayist, poet, and public intellectual as well as the author and coeditor of several books in Spanish.

Michael J. Lazzara is Professor of Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Davis.

Charles F. Walker is Professor of History and Director of the Hemispheric Institute on the Americas at the University of California, Davis.