Widows

In this moving novel set in a Greek village in 1942, the corpses of "disappeared" men wash ashore. The village women claim the bodies as husbands and fathers, even though their faces are unrecognizable. A tug of war ensues between the local police, who insist the women cannot identify their loved ones, and the women, who demand the right to bury their dead. Their standoff becomes a struggle for dignity and honor against the forces of fascism. First published in 1983 and anticipating some of the themes of his award-winning play Death and the Maiden, Widows is Ariel Dorfman's eloquent tribute to those who have perished under totalitarian regimes. This is a classic parable of individual courage in the face of oppression from a "literary grandmaster" (Time). "Lyrical and even elegiac ... Dorfman gives flesh to a human rights issue of our time."-- Chicago Tribune