Sandra Benitez returns with a new book

A poigmant and compelling novel,THE WEIGHT OF ALL THINGS is about war-and the lunacy of it-seen trough the eyes of a nine-year-old boy.The last time Nicolas Veras saw his mother,she was slumped over him,mortally wounded by gunfire that erupted in a crowded plaza during a funeral for a martyred archbishop.Convinced that his mother is still alive,Nicolas vows to find her again,no matter what. Thus begins the young boy's harrowing journey through his war-ravaged country.The attempt to find his mother begins an odyssey that leads from one peril to another.Nicolas searches trough a merciless no-man's-land menaced by guerrillas on the left and the army on the right.It is search that ends in still another massacre,and a heroic gesture by the boy who comes tounderstand, as grown-ups seemingly cannot,that guns and violence are not the answer;that,in war,there are no winners,and that the ultimate losers are the innocent caught in the middle

. Inspired by real events.THE WEIGHT OF ALL THINGS is a gripping novel that will solidify Benite'z place in the pantheon of contemporary authors writing brilliantly about the realities of Latin American life.

"Set in El Salvador during the civil war of the 1980s "THE WEIGHT OF ALL THINGS" seamlessly blends fact with imagination,evoking the trauma of war more vividly than any newspaper account. Benitez's novel is both political and spiritual, beautifuly illuminating the effects of war on the innocent.Her archievement here is considerable; in this brief narrative, she gives voice to the silenced"
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Quite a valuable history lesson" -Kirkus Reviews

"THE WEIGHT OF ALL THINGS is a strong and provocative novel.."
-Oscar Hijuelos,author of EMPRESS OF THE SPLENDID SEASON and THE MAMBO KINGS PLAY SONGS OF LOVE

"In this fierce novel,events are dramatized with such sensory perception and narrative pulse,the reader must gasp,then weep..Sandra Benitez imbues this tragic history with dignity and optimism,through the medium of the perfectly rendered scene.She is a novelist of great anger and greater love"
-Sandra Scofield,author of A CHANCE TO SEE EGYPT

"Benitez does it again.From the first lyrical sentence to the last pwerful scene,she draws us into a fascinating world of violence and love,death and redemption.What a read!"
-Ana Veciana Suarez,author of THE CHIN KISS KING

"If your book club wants to know to read this year, I wholeheartedly recommend THE WEIGHT OF ALL THINGS.A lyrical parable about the folly of war set in 1980s El Salvador,it chronicles the experiences of a nine-year-old boy caught between batting factions as he searches for his mother.This odyssey is for all of us who are looking for a'place where the river and the water is not as deep"
-Mickey Pearlman,author of WHAT TO READ

"THE WEIGHT OF ALL THINGS, like Kosinski's The Painted Bird,iluminates and makes particular the horrors that people at war can inflict on a young boy.More than any report of events in El Salvador I have ever read,the story of Nicolas Veras and his terrible odyssey will stay with me"
-Katherine Weber,author of OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR and THE MUSIC LESSON

Award-winning novelist Sandra Benitez received internacional acclaim for her first two novels: A PLACE WHERE THE SEA REMEMBERS ("A quietly stunning work that leaves soft tracks in the heart"- The Washington Post Book World)and BITTER GROUNDS (The kind of book that fills your dreams for weeks"-Isabel Allende.She now returns with a unforgettable tale of life war-torn El Salvador THE WEIGHT OF ALL THINGS (Hyperion;Hardcover;$22.95;February 7,2001).