My Name is Light
By Elsa Osorio. Bloomsbury, 2003. 358 pages.
Translated by Catherine Jagoe.
ISBN 978-0747561613
Available from Amazon
Twenty-year-old Luz, an Argentinian, is on holiday in Madrid with her husband and new-born son. But secretly she has a mission—to find her real father. Carlos was a desaparecido—one of the many political activists in Argentina who literally ‘disappeared’ during the country’s brutal military dictatorship in the seventies—while her mother, a political prisoner, was killed trying to flee the country. As a baby, Luz was secretly adopted by a wealthy couple, unaware of her true origins. My Name is Light is a gripping, emotionally charged book, a powerful story about a young girl’s quest to find her identity and to uncover the deadly secrets of one of Argentina’s darkest periods.
Kirkus Reviews review of My Name is Light.
“A family drama with a political kick. ”
“We are deeply touched by a personal struggle: a woman’s quest to discover the truth about herself and her country’s history.”
“An affecting story of bravery in a culture of fear. ”
“Brilliant. A passionate novel, one of those you can’t put aside. ”
