"...this work takes on a historical and international importance". The surprising influence here is Steinbeck. In both subject and style, Quesada's work is a reflection of that very distinctive North American writer. The Ships' main characters are all working class people, men and women who must toil in the day and extract most of their pleasure in the off hours of night Quesada does a remarkable job in conveying the life of the Honduran field worker, covering the age spectrum effectively. The old worker Chon is the sage who has spent his life in the fields. His entire existence and that of his progeny are dependent on the wages he can draw from the plantations and the ships that bring extra work into the Honduran ports. This work is highly accessible to the North American reader. The clear writing and the setting of La Ceiba, Honduras combine to lend an exotic vet pertinent quality to the reading experience. The spectre of the war in Nicaragua lingers in the background. The imposing dread of the greed and corruption of the plantations lingers even closer. When both of these forces finally push their way into the main action of the plot, this work takes on a historical and international importance. San Diego Review, 1993. David Bajo. In this novel a group of young men migrate to the heart of the pineapple plantations in Honduras, on a journey of discovery and personal liberation, a young hero is ready to live an experience of love and war. Roberto Quesada's narrative moves along with the power and innocence of young lives destined to defeat the evil forces of social injustice and the abuse of power of foreign intervention. The Ships is a stunning novel in which the magical realism of recent Latin American narrative is enriched by the skillful handling of Quesada popular oral tradition and language. Ph. D. Fernando Alegría Stanford University He served as cultural attaché from the government of Salvador Allende (Chile) to the United States from 1970 to 1973. He is a Poet, writer, literary critic and scholar. San Francisco/California/October 1991
