Florencia Mallon will read from her first novel, Beyond the Ties of Blood, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 19, in Prairie Lights Books and on the Writing University website of the University of Iowa.

Curtis Sittenfeld commented, “Engrossing and complex. Florencia Mallon immerses readers in a vivid world in which family, political turmoil, and romance intersect. A powerful story told with wisdom and compassion.” In the tradition of Isabel Allende, this Chilean-American novel is a family saga that explores the lives touched by the tragedies of Chile’s vibrant history.

Mallon was raised in Santiago, Chile, and in the United States, and she was educated at Harvard and Yale. She is the head of the history department at the University of Wisconsin and has written three nonfiction books about Latin American history. She has been awarded a Guggenheim fellowship and a Fulbright fellowship.

For more information or special accommodations to attend the Prairie Lights event, contact jan@prairielights.com.