The Book of Sand - Jorge Luis Borges

"...this book was called the Book of Sand, because neither the book nor the sands has any beginning or end."

The collection of short stories published towards the end of the literary career of Borges,  according to him is the best he has ever written. He was almost blind and at the twilight of his illustrious career as a writer. But, that and his words as a testimony does not make them as his best.  "The volume includes thirteen stories.The number is accidental, or fatal - here the two words are strictly synonymous- and not magical" says he in the author's note. " In these blind man's exercises, I have tried to be faithful to the example of H.G.Wells in combining the plain and at times almost colloquial style with a fantastic plot." , he conclude saying "I write for myself and for my friends, and I write  to ease the passing of time".

Some of them are to his admittance autobiographical ( the one richest in memories).  Most of the stories in this book can be identified as the reminiscence of an aging man trying to fabricate the tales of his yester-years  through scenarios, events, dreamlike sequences and encounters. The other, opening story has the confrontation with his own alter ego , in Cambridge  near Charles River. The Congress and "The Book of Sand" are the two other stories I found good in this. Avelino Arredondo, a story about a Political murder in the last decade in Uruguay is another interesting story.

These stories aren't the precipitation of all that wisdom and learning of a man who enthralled the readers for years. Despite his claim as his most significant work, for the strict Borges readers , both ficcions and labyrinth probably be superior to this collection.  One can observe the reflection of those writings in these pages, and it do have few classy stories to its credit. Borges gives us a hasty afterwords helping the readers into the context of his stories. He says he prefer an afterwords because prefacing the stories not yet read, is somewhat impossible task, since it demand analysis of plots. Not the greatest of the writing of Borges, but the stamp and touch of a great writer is evident in every page. I should get back to 'Labyrinth' soon.

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The Book of Sand (1975)

Jorge Luis Borges ( translated from Spanish by Norman thomas di Giovanni)

Allen Lane

94 Pages
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Latinoes, Wiki

Woes of the True Policeman - Roberto Bolaño

"According to Padilla, remembered Amalfitano, all literature could be classified as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. Novels, in general, were heterosexual. Poetry, on the other hand, was completely homosexual. Within that vast ocean of poetry he identified various currents: faggots, queers, sissies, freaks, butches, fairies, nymphs, and philenes."

When Chilean writer Roberto Bolano died, he left us with a large treasure of manuscripts , including the magnum opus 2666, which was published posthumously. The 5 part novel, which was complete in all sense, was rumored to have an unfinished part 6. Hence, when this manuscript of "The Woes of a True Policeman" was received, it was largely speculated as the part 6 of the 2666. The similarity in names and the province, added to the speculation. However, this book, published 7 years after his death is not a sequel to the 2666, but read more like a parallel story, or a book which was in preparation, in line with the 2666 theme, as if filling the gaps of the narrative in 2666. This book will be delicious for the Bolano fans, as it repeats his characters and places from the magnum opus 2666.

Amalfitano, 50, literature professor at the University in Barcelona, "for the first time, slept with a man".  "I am not a man" said Padilla, "I am your Angel". That relationship, however did cost him the job, yet again. While he lost his previous teaching assignments for across various countries, starting from his homeland Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Germany, France etc for political reasons, this time was for his personality issues.  He , a widower, is now staying with his 17 yr old daughter, has to now find a new job.  It is thus, he was offered a job, back in Mexico, with the help of one of his early student ( who had a crush on him) , and herself a professor at the Santa Teresa University. 

The location of the plot, now shifts back to Santa Teresa, the fictional town famous by the book 2666. The bordering town near the US, the town notorious for the death of young girls, is a continuation of where 2666 left us with.  Finding his foothold in the new place, he continue to find people of his choice,  including a art forger selling his forged paintings of Larry Rivers to wealthy Texans,  while continuing his correspondence with his love Padilla in Barcelona, who interestingly in the process of writing a novel titled "The God of Homosexuals", while staying with a local drug dealer and an AIDS victim, which he himself get diagnosed with.  The only continuity in this kaleidoscopic book is through the letters of Padilla and Amalfitano.

The fourth part of the book is a detailed study on the fictitious French write JMG Arcimboldi. Boleno spends a lot of pages and energy on the works and the reviews of the books of Arcimboldi. Unlike the 2666, the writer Arcimboldi here is a French writer ( also note the change in spelling) and is not as profound as we see the writer in 2666. 

This book, to me was intended to be another huge work in the likes of 2666, which was cut short due to his untimely death. This leave you with a feeling of incompleteness. Most of the subplots are fragmented and inconclusive, be it the Padilla , his daughter who in line with the reputation of the town, disappeared mysteriously.  Though the editors say, it was at different stages of completion, and the book was originaly started in 1980s continued to write and modify by Bolano, until 2003, it still seems to be incomplete to me.  The title of the book itself, shows that the intent was different from being a story of a homosexual professor, which it turned out to be, in the end.

However, the book has some brilliant writings, in the typical Bolano style. The long sentences-paragraphs, the cross references,  to me it was a smooth read. This book will appeal to a die hard fan of Bolano, but leave a lot to be desired for the rest.  But one can see a masterpiece in the making. Interestingly, the book is dedicated to Philip K Dick and Manuel Puig, the Argentine writer, whom he admire ( so do I, after reading "Kiss of the Spider Woman", and "Eternal Curse on the readers of these pages").

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Woes of the True Policeman ( 2010 -posthumous )

Roberto Bolaño ( translated from Spanish by Laura Healy 2012 )

Picador

290 pages
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NY Times, Wall Street Journal, A V Club

The dream of the Celt - Mario Vargas Llosa

This book was published immediately after he was selected for the Nobel Prize in 2010. The anticipation and expectation were very high. More so, after the disappoint over the previous one- The Bad Girl. However, it took a couple of years before the English translation  to come out. In line with his later works ( those released in 21st Century) , Mario Vargas Llosa, takes up subject from history and historical figures and work his magic around those incidents. His earlier works such as 'The way to Paradise ( on Paul Gaguin) or 'The Feast of the Goat' ( on the dictator Rafael Trujillo of Dominican Republic) were very good, especially the feast of the goat. This time, he takes the case of Roger Casement , an IRISH revolutionary who spend his early days in Africa and later in Amazon fighting for the cause of the indigenous people against the abuse of colonial power.

Waiting for the hangman's rope in the Pentonville Prison in London, Roger Casement  ( "one of the great anti-colonial fighters and defenders of human rights and indigenous cultures of his time, and a sacrificed combatant for the emancipation of Ireland.” )  recounts his turbulent life spent across three continents. His appeal for clemency is under scrutiny by the Parliament, however the hope seems to be less, after the revelations of his sexual preference ( for the young dark boys of Africa and Amazon)  is made public by the authorities, obtained from his secret dairy. He seldom has visitors, most of his high profiled friends including some of the leading writers of the world abstain from meeting him or supporting him in public, for he is now under trial as a traitor of the kingdom, which once honoured him with Knighthood. Few visitors include an acquaintance in London and a Catholic Priest.

Roger's childhood is spend with his uncle and aunt after the death of his mother ( who continue to appear to him in his dreams) and later his father. Joined as an apprentice in a logistic firm, he get an opportunity to travel to Congo , which changes the course of his life.  Accompanying the great African explorer Stanley ( whom he recall as "one of the most unscrupulous villains the west had excreted on to the continent of Africa"), he had witnessed the atrocities of the colonial power Belgium inflicting upon the natives in their quest for 'black gold' rubber which is in great demand in the industrialised world. Its his investigation and report that opened the truth of the atrocities and cruelties that are subjected on the natives by the colonial powers.

On his return to England, he was entrusted with another challenge. This time to enquire about the activities of a British Company owned by Julio C Arana, in the Amazon jungles at Putamayo, Peru. To his dismay, the situation in Amazon is no better than what was in Congo. Those in power used all their cruel means to subdue and servile the native for their personal fortune. The levels of cruelty and abuse is no less and not surprisingly, those who were to take action were found in indulging the same atrocities, often paid by the business.

It is during these days in the jungle, that kindles Roger's patriotic believes. "Wasn't Ireland a colony too, Like the Congo ? Hadn't England invaded Ireland ? Hadn't they incorporated it into the empire by force, not consulting those who had been invaded and occupied, just as the Belgians did with the Congolese ?".  The rest of Casement life had been now focused towards Ireland.  Learning its history, its unique culture, and unsuccessfully trying to learn Gaelic, he started working with the Irish republican brotherhood and other similar organisations. His currently acquired fame made him the attraction and he was busy spreading the message across the country despite his physical illness in the form of arthritis. Raising funds for the organisation, trying to gather support of Germany ( enemy's enemy is our friend) to work along with the Irish Republican  Brotherhood in the event of an armed offensive, trying to secure arms and ammunition to the fighters, he worked round the clock for his dream. He was caught by the British Army, on his attempt to return to Ireland from Germany prior to the Easter Rising offensive, and was sentenced to death, by the court.

Written in three parts, each dedicated to Congo, Amazon and Ireland, Mario Vargas Llosa, does what he is best at. Weaving his narrative from the historical facts with his mastery and imagination, he build the case of Roger Casement. The cruelty and atrocities of the colonials ( chopping of penis and limbs, the whip marks on natives for smaller errors, the knife mark on the bodies with the company details etc), the plight of the soldiers who are asked to perform these atrocities by their superiors, the business houses with the eye for money and the personal preferences of Roger Casement,  etc are noted with keen observation and with detachment. Where history does not provide him with direct details, I think he excels himself. Where the available data is sufficient and with no scope of imagination, his writings are dull and plain as a text book., The part of Congo and Amazon are written brilliantly. However, the last part on Ireland does not live upto the previous two. However, he finishes in style.

Though this do not stand among his best books, it is better than the previous one.  Despite the uneven narrative towards the end, it still holds pretty well as a strong powerful tale. The narratives technique is brilliant often moving between the present ( 1916 at Pentonville Jail) to the respective continents. The ease of shifting of the narrative space is amazing. The language is fluid and poetic at many places. Again, not amongst his best,  good nonetheless.

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The Dream of the Celt ( 2010)

Mario Vargas Llosa  ( translated from Spanish by Edith Grossman 2012)

Faber & Faber

403 Pages
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Wiki Entry, Guardian, NY Times, Washington Post, Sydney Morning Herald, Telegraph, Independent

The Secret History of Costaguana - Juan Gabriel Vasquez

Joseph Conrad is struggling to come up from his debts and his creative lull and need to write a book that bring him back to the literary scene. Its his 1903 book Nostrono, which he set in the fictional republic of Costaguana in the Latin America. However, the person supposed to have assisted Conrad in the writing with his novel ( Jose Altamirano, who visited London to answer few questions by Conrad, ending up telling his life story) is now feel cheated ( 'You've eliminated me from my own life. You, Joseph Conrad, have robbed me.') and wants to set things right to the " Jury of the Readers" by retelling the real story.

Under this pretext, starts the tale of a country that was in turmoil for over 60 years in the middle of the Americas. The tiny land strip of Panama Rapublic. Originally part of Columbia, this merely 100 km wide land connect between two continents was of strategic importance of the nations of the world. The trading of goods from the Europe and other part of the world to the West cost of the US, or the rich minerals and metals from Peru and Chile to Europe has to go through the southern Cape of South America, which was a great loss of time and resources. The Spaniards tried to find a way from the Atlantic Coast of the Isthmus to the Pacific Coast. the narrow strip wasn't an easy one to conquer. the early days of moving the good through these jungles and difficult terrain was met with lot of difficulties and loss of man power. The idea of building a rail line came from this experience. An American names Aspinwal won the deal and the rail road was constructed amidst great loss of people. The workers brought in from various parts of the world succumbed to the tropical deceases and the hard labour. Unable to withstand the hardship , people started commit suicide ( especially Chinese), the Irish workers abandoned and had to be moved to New York However, Aspinwal and Company succeeded in completing the 50+ mile "Panama Rail Road Company" after much delay and huge loss of human lives, amidst multiplied cost. Though this had improved the movements of goods with considerable ease, it stil had its own issues. The ships have to be unloaded and loaded to the rail road wagons and had to be reloaded again at the other end. It is at this time, the Frenchman de Lessip and his team successfully completed linking Mediterranean sea to the Red sea in the Middle East, thus reducing the time travel to the Far East, in the form of Seuz Canal. He was invited to study the feasibility of a similar Canal between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The Panama Canal , under the auspices of de Lessip and his French team has thus began. However, they had to face all those difficulties that the "Rail Road Company had to undergo. Losses mount, the progress next to none, the investors in the company is not satisfied, the political and civil unrest lead to the famous 1000 days of war etc hampered the canal, resulting in the abandonment of progress and the return of the French. Panama was still in unrest. Despite multiple set backs and hanging of their revolutionary leaders , they fought for their independence from the mainland Colombia. At this opportune moment, US steps in and supported the break away republic, only after securing the rights to build the canal, which eventually completed a decade later.

Juan Vasquez, build his story around this history of Panama from the 1850s to the first decade of 20th Century ( until 1905), through his characters. José Altamirano, a bastard son born in Bogota, learns about his father as he was turning twenty and come to Panama in search of him. He meets his father in Panama, who is unaware of the existence of his son.The rest of the book is about his relationship with his journalist father Miguel, who in continuation with his support to the Rail Road company and the Canal Project writes article in the leading news papers and his wife ( a French widow who looses her child and her Engineer Husband to the tropial Yellow Fever) and daughter. His personal history in connection with the history of the republic is intermixed as both goes through the same level of turmoil.

Juan Vasquez walks the fine line of fiction and history with some clever writing. A little knowledge of the history of the Rail Road Company, the Panama Canal Project and the Independence of Panama will be essential if you want to get into this book. I had to discontinue my reading and get back after I did some parallel reading on the above. While he is a brilliant writer, and this book is a product of meticulous research and planning the heavy historical content that overshadow the fictional element make this a non-fiction read at many a times. The initial pages however was brilliant writing.

Jose Altamirano is a great protagonist. While he claims to set the facts right, most of the narrative is not about him, but about the birth of the republic whose fortunes were interlinked with his own. Its a country risen from great losses of individuals, including that of his own. Thus it is also a a confessional narration, apologetic to his daughter,Eloisa. Vasquez has combined many a things in his narration. Colombia, having to loose control over one of the most important area of world commerce, having suffered the humiliation by the mighty powers, The Panama, having to suffer the fate only because of its strategic geographical position, whose ill fortune did not end after the independence ( its trouble continued years after its secession from Columbia , as late as 1989 when the US Marines invaded the country to arrest the ruler). The book is multi-layered. There is a Columbian view as the protagonist and his father are from Columbia, there is world view of its importance of the Rail Road and Canal, the Conrad angle, the subtle love of a husband and father forced to go through personal losses resulting from political upheaval.

The modern day literary revenge ( he not only takes on Conrad, but the general literary tendencies ) set in the midst of historical turmoil, intelligently and cleverly written by one of the new voices form Latin American Literature. Very good book.

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The Secret History of Costaguana ( 2007 )
Juan Gabriel Vasquez ( translaed from Spanish by Anne McLean -2010)

Bloomsbury

309 Pages
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NY Times, Guardian , Independent

Distant Star -Roberto Bolaño

Bolano, in his preface refer to the final chapters of 'Nazi Literature in America' as one of the reasons of this book. ;The story of Lietenant Ramirez Hoffman of the Chilean Air Force. I haven't read that book, hence I could not connect. However, Bolano and his Chilean friend Arturo B , got together to wrie a full version of it.

"So we took the final chapter and shut ourselves up for a month and half in my house in Blanes, where, guided by his dreams and nightmares, we composed the present novel."

Alberto Ruiz-Tagle, a timid young wanna be poet of the young Chilean generation influenced by Neruda, was first encounterd by the narrator during the early 70s at a poetry workshop in southern city of Conception. The early memories of Tagle was not very impressive, being friendly to the woman folks and maintaining a courteous distance with his own gender . However there were a few who believed he is going to be the new distinct voice of Chilean poetry, despite having no success with his art form. The days were Allende's government were short lived and the military coup took over the country under Pinochet. The university was ransacked and the news of arrest, murder and disappearances of 'people of words' were on the rise. Our narrator himself was arrested and was detained in an open prison.

Appearing now as a flight officer under the Pinochet's regime, Tagle, soon came to the limelight with his acrobatics in the sky, where he writes verses with some clever and dare devil maneuvers with his plane of World War II fame to the witnessing crowds at various city scapes.While the poets in ground failed to create any impact and were muted, Tagle, under the new name of Carlos Wieder, writing nationalist slogans in the air to the delights of the authorities.

Bolano's narrator, now released from prison, unable to come to terms with the new regime, exit Chile doing odd jobs in Europe. Now settled in Paris, he tries to reconnect with his old contacts trying to follow their fortune through various forms of correspondence and information that is available. Asked by a Chilean private detective, seeking his help to track Wieder down, he gets into the task of reconstruct his tales of adventure, his cruelty and survival through those troublesome years of oppression. It is through these searches, Bolano ( through his narrator) gives us the tale of missing people, gruesome murder, detention, torture and exile of the large number of poets and other writers from Chile. Before exiling himself from chile Wieder plans and sxhibition of his photographs, where he displays some of the gruesome pictures of torture and murder during the regime. Now out of Chile, living under disguise, Weider or his resemblance seems to have appeared at various places around the world at different times, writing and publishing in many neo-fascist journals. The task of identifying the 'hand behind' these writings as Weider is what is entrusted upon the narrator, helping to track down the fugitive.The investigative thriller now takes over to a typical finish.

Mixing politics and poetry together, Bolano weaves a story together. Rich, filled with sub-plots and mere descriptive journalistic writing, he creates an impressive tale. Short novel , in the size of 'One night in Chile', comes out in his impeccable style, used to a regular Bolano reader. Despite multiple diversion and a rather soft plot, this was an interesting and engaging read.

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Distant Star ( 1996)

Roberto Bolaño ( translated from Spanish by Chris Andrews 2004)

Vintage Books

149 Pages
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Other Reviews : Guardian, Complete Review , Telegraph, Biblioklept

Red April - Santiago Roncagliolo

21st century Latin American literature will be known for the new genre of writers who excel in modern literary thrillers. Red April, in the news again for nominated to the 'best translated works' is one catching attention among the readers all over the world. Having read Soldan ( turing's delirium) recently, I guess the new age writers may be moving away in style and substance from the boom generation of yesteryear. The period is 2000,in the new century, past the peak of Maoist insurgency and the regime of Alberto Fujimori ( 80s and 90s killing nearly 70000 people in Peru) , Set in the provincial city of Ayachuco, this murder mystery, crime thriller from the young Peruvian writer is already a super hit in the international market.

Associate District Prosecutor Félix Chacaltana Saldívar , is transferred to Ayachuco, on his request to be in the place of his mother. He is recently separated with his wife and the only emotional support is from his dead mother, whose memory he keep alive, rebuilding the room as he remembered during his young days. Asked to investigate some unnatural murders in Ayachuco, he immediately realises that there aren't many who shares his interest in the same. Unable to get support from the police or from the surgeon , he decides to find his way to the story. He suspect and find hits about the involvement of 'shinig path' an outlawed terrorost organisation , dormant for almost 20 years, behind the new set of murders. The deeper he is into the investigation more isolated he become. However the authorities had another task for him, to go and monitor the on going election in one of the remote part of Peru. Now deeply into the case, he gets into unearthing the true story, without the support of the authorities. As he finds his way to more and more people to link and connect the issues, he gets into another issue. All those whom he interview or meet, ended up victims and ended up dead. as he himself puts it :

"All the people I talk to die, Father. I'm afraid. It's ... it's as if I were signing their death sentences when I leave them."

The week long festival is on and the town is full of visitors from various part of the world. The atmosphere is tense and imminent violence is in the air. Chacalnata, is in the thick of the things. More deaths and suspects . The novel takes the typical twist and turns of suspects and allegations. The literary element is slowly moved away with the frenzy of things and action.

Red April, started very well continued till the midway in line with the expectation I had. However, soon, this too took the typical crime thriller turn and ended up in the common genre. On his part the writer keeps manages to keep the suspense on until the end. It is an easy and fast read. As I said, initial parts I find very well written, vivid and unhurried. Characterisation of Chacalnata is done pretty well, from a simpleton, vulnerable and lost in his new assignment to one who is cunning and intelligent is very subtle and good. May be there is a symbolic use of the image of mother, which escapes me. As a socio-political crime thriller, the book is good. If there are any comparison to Mario Vargas Llosa's "Death in the Andes" ( almost on the similar theme), I would cast my vote for the Nobel Laureate.

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Red April ( 2006)

Santiago Roncagliolo ( translated from Spanish by Edith Grossman in 2009)

Atlantic Books

271 Pages

Rs 399
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Other Reviews : Guardian , Complete Review, Independent, Seattlepi



Conversation in the Cathedral - Mario Vargas Llosa

Month of November is for reading the newly crowned Nobel prize winner. Unlike the last couple of years, this time it wasn't some one new to me. Having read 10 odd books by Mario Vargas Llosa, I wasn't looking forward to a new revelation of an author. However, there is many of his books, I haven't put my hands on. That could be a lie, if I talk about this one. Having bought this in 1995 and started a couple of times, but never going beyond few pages ( I do not abandon books, but this book was an exception). The reason for putting it aside was not because it was not interesting or I do not like the writer, but was some stupid house moving etc. The announcement of Nobel Prize, thus became an inspiration to take this up again.

Written as conversation between two people on one afternoon in a local pub, this giant book of Mario Vargas Llosa, take us to the 50s of Peru under the dictatorship of Manuel Odria. Santiago, an editorial page journalist with La Cronica, goes in search of his missing dog on the insistence of his wife. The dog was forcefully taken from her by the dog catchers, who are paid by the authorities by the count of dogs. It was during this recovery of his dog, Santiago met with Ambrosio, an old time associate and driver of his politician cum Industrialist. Over the next few hours they discuss the period of the dictatorship and their life during those times over few bottles of beer at a shady pub known as the Cathedral.

Young Santiago, an idealistic young boy in his early twenties, move out of his house with differences with the family and their association with the power, leading a nomadic life there after. He gets into trouble with the authorities with his involvement with the Communists and APRISTAS ( members of APRA another rebel outfit who ruled Peru before Odria) and soon get disillusioned with politics, gets into the life of a journalist.. "My whole life spent doing things without believing, my whole life spent pretending""And my whole life is a lie, I don't believe in anything." His low paying job is just enough to make his ends meet , but he refuses to take any support from his super rich family.

Through Ambrosio's narrative, Santiago understand the complex and dangerous life his family is leading. At the high level of political circle, no one is safe. As he explains, his father has business interest than political. Having dependency on the Government orders for his business, he was suddenly left to nothing when these were suspended by fellow minister. The political quagmire and the unrest in the society lead to the elimination of many a powerful leaders changing the fortune of the family

This is a book on Power and Politics. This is not about dictatorship and cruelty, It examines the life of people closely associated with the power and however close you are to the power you are not any different from the people on the street. Every minister is corrupt, some of them run prostitute ring, they are low in morality and often spend evenings with their mistresses and wild parties. Political manipulations and repression is rampant and most of the close associates of the powerful men do the dual roles ( chauffeur as well as henchman ). To his surprise Santiago realise the involvement of his father in a murder and his unnatural sexual tendencies. Despite his trouble relationship with his family, especially his mother, his relationship with the father was always courteous and with respect. His father was always concerned about him, while respecting his decision to be independent, while the rest of the house consider him as a looser.

There is depth in every character and the interlink is strong and methodical. Be it the wife of Ambrosio, the cook in the family of Zavalitas or be it the mistress of the ministers. Llosa deploys a very complex structure of narrative. There are 3-4 conversations simultaneously, between different people at multiple places and different time period. Hence it is demanding on the reader. The book is long and fine printed. But this is very engaging, and never a dull moment. The secret or the story is revealed gradually and the build up is done phenomenally brilliant. Llosa's mastery in story telling is at the best. This book is considered by many as one of his best works.

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Conversation in the Cathedral ( 1969)
Mario Vargas Llosa ( translated from Spanish by Gregory Rabassa 1975 )

Faber and Faber

601 Pages
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Hopscotch - Julio Cortazar

Hopscotch , as the writer tells us is many novels in one book. The beginning of the books gives the reader the various options of reading. One way is to read conventionally, from chapter 1 to chapter 56. The story ends there, and the remaining chapters are extendable pages. The other option is to read the book as per the table given by the writer himself ( that is the way he wanted to you to read the book), starting from chapter 73 and then following the direction at the end of each chapter. You can also invent your own ways of reading, either odd numbered chapters or even numbered ..etc. It gives you a possibility of multiple reading.

Not only with various reading of chapters , Cortazar is also experimenting with telling two stories in one chapter ( no 34) , alternating lines corresponds to two separate threads. Thus, it makes a difficult and challenging reading experience. This complexity, this style and the often felt frustration while reading is makes this a worthwhile reading exercise.

Cortazar, in one interview says "The general idea behind Hopscotch, you see, is the proof of a failure and the hope of a victory. But the book doesn't propose any solution; it simply limits itself to showing the possible paths one can take to knock down the wall, to see what's on the other side."

Horacio Oliveira is a wannabe writer, intellectual living in Paris. He along with his Lover ( Lucia , called La Maga ) and circle of friends from the same fraternity ( they call themselves 'The Club'), spent their evenings drinking, smoking and listening to Jazz discussing various intellectual points. Oliveira, the most recent but the most influential of the lot has been living with La Maga for several months. Things changes after the return of La Maga's son Racamadour, after La Maga fails to pay his monthly expenses for his stay in Belgium. Racamadour has been ill and instead of treating him at the hospital , she decides to take care of him at home. Arrival of Racamadour, brings troubles to the relationship, and Oliveira frequents another girl Pola as his new found love, while the Club continue to meet and discuss topics of literary, art and philosophy. Death of Racamadour, changes the life of La Maga and one day she leave the flat. Oliveira's attempt to find her fails as various news of her returning to Montevideo or the news of unidentified corpse in the Seine shakes him up .

The second part of the novel follows Oliveira to Buenos Aires. After a failed attempt to find La Maga in Montevideo, he returns to his homeland, befriends Monola Traveler. Traveler and his wife Talita, works in the circus as administrators, helps him find a job there after a failed attempts to be a fabric seller. Later the team move to administer a mental asylum. the image and memory of La Maga continue to haunt Oliveira, and the visions of her coupled with the images of Talita causes enough despair to Oliveira taking him to the brink of committing suicide.

The entire novel is fragmented images of Oliveira. For all this book is referred as a hypertext. Alternating between first person and third person narrative as appropriate, looking from various character angle, the book as you read gives you various perspective of narration. The game of hopscotch with the characters, and with the readers.

Written during the time of experimental writing ( 1960s has brought out some of the most outstanding literature from the Latin America), Cortazar too does one of the most complex and significant novel of that era. While the book demand multiple reading, I am still at loss of words to describe the book. All I can say was this is one fantastic book.

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Hopscotch ( 1963 )

Julio Cortazar ( translated from Spanish by Gregory Rabassa )

Pantheon Books

564 Pages

Rs 650
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Further read : Powers Review, Complete-review.com, The Electronics Labrynth

By Night in Chile - Roberto Bolaño

Roberto Bolano has been getting considerable admiration in the English speaking world, after his translations are made available, in the past few years. There are comparisons of him to Marquez and Borges in stature. 2666, the book released last year in English, posthumously, was a huge success, with rave reviews around the globe. I too, did buy the copy of 2666, along with the rest of the world, but haven't summed up enough courage to start reading the mammoth book ( 800 pages only). Instead , decided to start of with a shorter one as an appetizer to the literary world of Bolano.

I haven't seen or read any other novel which is written in one paragraph. 130 pages of this monologue, is in one non-stop paragraph. Sebastian Urrutia Lacroix, a Chilean priest, member of Opes Dei ( right-wing orthodox Christian group), a failed poet and a literary critic, on his death bed ( or so he believes) recounts his life, during the course of the night.

"I am dying now. But I still have many things to say" , begins, Urrutia, taking the readers through multiple disjointed often dreamy sequences of the important events of literary and political importance, witnessed by him. After the initial pages where he talks about his life and the introductions to the church ,

"At the age of fourteen, I entered the seminary, and when I came out again, much later on, my mother kissed my hand and called me Father..... I protested , saying Don't call me Father, mother, I am your son.."

His acquaintance with the literary world was through the literary critic, called Farewell (with homosexual tendencies) , at whose villa, he was introduced the greats like Pablo Neruda and other established and upcoming poets and writers of Chile. The discussions with Farewell ranged from the poets and novelists of Chile and Argentina to the Artists and Paintings of the modern Europe.

"What use are books, they are shadows, nothing but shadows. And I : like the shadows you have been watching ? Farewell: Quite. And I: There is a very interesting book by Plato on precisely that subject. Farewell : Dont be an idiot. And I: What are those shadows telling you, Farewell, what is it ? Farewell: They are telling me about multiplicity of reading. And I : Multiple, perhaps, but thoroughly mediocre and miserable".

A starving Guatemalan painter in the Paris suburb, the German writer and the representative of the nation in Paris, Ernst Jünger comes in the thoughts among many real and imaginary characters of Chile. He was also selected by the Opes Dei, to take a tour of Europe and study about the preservation of Churches and report back, during which he meets various priest across multiple countries, practising falconry to get rid of the pigeon, whose dropping can cause considerable damage to the architecture.

After the death Allende and the fall of socialist Goverment, General Pinochet took over the control of the country. Urrutia, was entrusted with the mission of taking secret classes to the Military junta, about the nuances of communism. His association with a wannabe writer Maria Canvales, who , with her American husband hosts extravagant parties at their residence participated by 'who is who' of the Chilean literary world. However, these parties did not last long after the fall of the regime and the revelation of the basement torture and interrogation camp conducted by the American for the Junta.

Fitting to the presentation of the novel ( a single paragraph), these thoughts and rants are continuous and jumping from one incident to other with no chronological sequence or structure. Even during these delirious rants, he is aware of the importance of silences..

''Yes, one's silences, because silences rise to heaven too, and God hears them, and only God understands and judges them, so one must be very careful with one's silences.'' His own silences, he adds, ''are immaculate.''

I thought, Sebastián Urrutia Lacroix is an anti-ego of what Bolano is (I've seen reports that Urrutia Lacroix is modeled on a real figure, the priest and right-wing literary critic José Miguel Ibañez Langlois) . A right wing orthodox, collaborating with the Pinochet Regime, ranting over the various political and literary icons of Chile and Europe.

This novel is beyond the delirious rant of a dying man. It is more complex than that and Bolano, is not spending time discussing his personal side of the story. His target is elsewhere, could be the pretentious academia of literary world, or the establishment with their secret interrogation cells, where you unknowingly being part of. With the narrator going through his memoirs over the history of Chile , the quest for wizened youth linger.. "I can picture the wizened youth's face. I cannot actually see him, but he is there in my mind's eye." and "Where is the wizened youth? Why has he gone away? And little by little the truth begins to rise like a dead body."

This book demand a second read , may be after getting familiarised with Bolano. This may not be the best of Bolano, but an important book and a fantastic introduction to an outstanding writer.

I haven't read a novel in one paragraph ! And of course, the end was great : " And then the storm of shit begins."

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By Night in Chile
Roberto Bolaño ( translated from Spanish by Chris Andrews )
The Harvill Press
130 Pages
Rs 600 ( phew !!)

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Further read : NY Times, Guardian

In the Name of Salomé - Julia Alvarez

Based on the life of Salomé Ureña, the national poet of Dominican Republic, during its independence from Spain, and her daughter Salome Camila , a scholar and professor in United States. The novel alternate between the life of the mother and the daughter, one from the birth through the years until the demise and the other starting at the early retirement in 1960 chronologically reversing to the time of her childhood, thus converging the tales at the birth ( so to say).

Dominican Republic has been through umpteen rulers since its initial independence from Spain. It was conquered by the neighbours at Haiti, fought independence and became a colony of Spain for the second time, got independence again in 1865, only to be ruled by various dictators ( Trujillo being the last and longest). Into this chaos is the patriotic poems of Urena, written under a pseudonym ( the secret code between the daughter and the seperated father) comes in, which become a rage among the people. The identity of Herminia revealed and Salome Uruna became the name of the household. Her influence did not diminish, even after the independence and a home rule was established. She was named as the national poet. Soon she marry the young dynamic Pancho , who is nine years younger to her ( member of the positivist movement) , who had fallen for her poems and wsa instrumental in getting her poems published under the auspices of 'Friends of the Nation'. The marriage lasted almost two decade wsan't a smooth ride. With Pancho constantly on the wrong side of the rulers, trying to establish the education system with his mentor and associating with various factions in the political power, had to live a life of being in exile or on look out. He manages to get out of the country on a scholarship to Paris, to pursue his study in medicine, while Salome takes charge of the upliftment of the education system opening the first school for girls. The life wsa on a dark side, with the ever demanding husband from Paris, and the news of his closeness with a French women coupled with her own deterioration of health owing to consumption ( as it was called for tuberculosis). Return of Pancho did not help things better, as the strain in the relationship and the physical condition worsen. Against the wishes of the doctors, Salome gets pregnant again with Camila, following whose birth signalled the eminent death of the once famous poet of the nation.

On the other side of the story, Camila herself is fighting the thought of her being the reason for her mothers untimely death. Her not so good relationship with her stepmother ( the nurse-assistant to Salome during her last years, whom Pancho marries soon after his wife's death), living in exile in Cuba and in the US, her life as an independent woman against constantly changing world around her were make her an interesting person. Her more than close relationship with an American Marion ( whom she taught Spanish during her initial days at the Vassar College), which oscillated between staying together and seperation at regular intervals. During 1960, she decided to retire from her high paying job and life in US, to come back to Cuba to help the new regime to establish the education system. Camila's detachment is with the countries she live in ( she refuses to stay in a decent accommodation, preferring to the attic ; not wanting to be part of the US culturally, deciding to return to Cuba before coming back to her country of birth towards the end of her life) , with the people she has relationship ( Marion , long lasting friend , the painter in Cuba, the White house attendant) , her family ( with her stepmother, her father , the siblings at various parts of the world) and herself ( with the self abandoning way of life).

While the narration is on the mother and daughter, the novel covers the entire family of Urena's ;  mother a famous writer, father, the President of the country ( albeit for 6 months) ,  a famous brother Pedro Henríquez Ureña ( A writer , critic ), daughter educationist and professor. This also covers various countries, Dominican Republic, Cuba ( in exile), France, Mexico, Argentina and US.

To write fiction based on real life people are challenging. On one hand , it has to do justice to the real events and personalities and on the other, it should satisfy the needs of fiction writing. One does not feel bogged down with the historical element and aspect while reading this book, nor does the characters come out and glorify themselves. Interestingly constructed, with one life progresses from childhood and the other from the retirement towards the childhood in reverse chronological order. The history of a turbulent country through the eyes of a poet and a scholar, looking from the feminine angle.

Beautifully written, introspective journey of two celebrated women of Dominican Republic.

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In the name of Salomé

Julia Alvarez

Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

357 Pages

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More : Austin Chronicle, Penguin Review and Interview with Julia Alvarez , Julia Alvarez Official website

I, The Supreme - Augusto Roa Bastos

I the supreme dictator of the Republic order that on the occasion of my death my corpse be decapitated; my head placed on a pike for three days in the plaza de la Republica, to which the people are to be summoned by the sounding of a full peel of bulls.....

I The Supreme, gives us the story of Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, self-professed Dictator for Life of Paraguay ruled from 1814 till 1840 ( until his death). Unlike the usual form of fiction, this is presented in form of dialogues, soliloquies, his writings, entries in notebook, his orders, apart from facts from the journals and other documents. The Supreme, on his death bed, recollects the events of his lifetime as the Dictator for Life of Paraguay, through his rants, memories, his reflections to his long standing secretary Policarpo Patino.

"When I dictate to you, the words have a meaning; when you write them, another. So that we speak two different languages…I want there to be something of myself in the words that you write."

There aren't any violent description on torture, of assassinations or brutal force. There are no dissident voices. There are no glorified propaganda machinery in place. However, the arrogant, all conquering , maneuvering and smart political and military leader is omnipresent. Pages after pages his persona rules the readers mind. You are left with awe and admiration for this cunning and manipulative politician. A compassionate leader, with keen interest in the welfare of the people of the country. Shrewd economical brain, negotiating with powerful neighbours and the foreign traders. Managing a country of the size of Paraguay against the Buenos Aires based Spanish and the Brazil based Portuguese and the Britishers isn't an easy task.

The history and survival of the republic of Paraguay is unveiled through these pages to the reader. The otherside of the person behind the uniform is not revealed much. His dubious past , the uncertainty over his parents ( he even reject the last minute plea by his father to reconcile from his death bed) are mentioned in passing remarks.

One of the outstanding novels I have read this year. Personally, I place this over the other two favourite 'dictator novels' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mario Vargas Llosa. The text is extremely dense and rich, the narration is in monologues, the conversations are as perceived by the dictator (in continuous writing without any space or linebreaks), the language is dreamy and metaphoric at times. The construction and style demands higher level of concentration from the reader. The large array names and places and the regular use of guarani phrases makes it challenging. Complex novel about absolute power and power of language.

This book was written during the regime of another dictator Alfredo Stroessner, with whom the publication wasn't well received. Bastos, spent a larger part of his life in exile (Argentina and later France), returned only after the fall of Stroessner's regime.
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I The Supreme
Augusto Roa Bastos ( translated from Spanish by Helen Lane )
Dalkey Archive Press
424 Pages
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More Read : L A Times, Cubanow.net , NY Times Article by Carlos Fuentez

A tale of the dispossessed - Laura Restrepo

The protagonist of this short novel arrives at a refugee shelter run by French nuns in search of the lady he loves the most. Set in Tora,Columbia, during the war, this mysterious man is looking for his foster mother , called Matilde Lina , from whom he was separated during an ambush years ago.

"If somebody asked him for more details, he just murmured that she was like everybody else, neither tall nor short, neither white nor black, not pretty or ugly, not lame or harelipped, and with no birthmarks on her face. There was nothing , absolutely nothing that would distinguish her from the others, except for many years of his life he had invested in searching for her".

The narrator, nameless, falls in love with this mysterious man , but it is only Matilde Lina, he talks and thinks about ("The world tastes of her," he says) . Three sevens, as he is called ( he does not know his real name ; from the time he remembers, he was called twenty one for having an extra toe, which later changed into three sevens) is desperate to find Matilde Lina, a laundress who rescued and raised him, from whom he was forcibly separated as a teenager during the War. "There's no country on earth as beautiful as this one," says the narrator. "No, there isn't," answers the dispossessed, "nor a more murderous one, either."

"His worst enemy has always been his guilt. Guilt for not having been able to prevent their dragging her away. Guilt for not searching enough for her. Guilt for still being alive, for breathing, eating, walking: he believes all of that is betraying her."

While on the run he has saved the wooden sculpture of 'Dancing Madonna' , a symbolic relic from the ancient past. Though he was later gets arrested and accused of stealing the dancing madonna, in the new place of his shelter, the sculpture gets its due respect and dignity.

A short fiction, superb plot to expand and carry , but disappointed at the end. An Oedipal sort of love ( there aren't many details of his relationship with Matilde Lina) and a silent love of the narrator in the backdrop of the war, ruins and refuge. The symbolic use of the 'dancing madonna' and the restoration of it in the shelter , the trouble at the oil refinery workers and the effect of the war which has a constant role in the events ; could have made this into a much interesting work.
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A Tale of the dispossessed

Laura Restrepo translated by Dolores M Koch
Harper Collins Publications
101 Pages
Rs 99/-
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More read : Salon , Interview

Let the wind speak - Juan Carlos Onetti

This book was written soon after his exile in Spain, by this Uruguay born author. This book looks into the periods life of Medina, as a fake (!) doctor , as a painter and as the chief of police. Bitterness, revenge and destruction is the underlying scheme of this novel. Being expelled from Santa Maria and living across the river at Lavanda, Medina has a love-hate relation with Santa Maria and everything associated with it. His long lost love, his numerous other lovers, the criminals and drug addicts are part of that world.

A life in poverty as a painter, living out of selling the unimpressive paintings of models and his girl friends to a corrupt and brutal chief of police shows the change in the character and attributes of Medina. The only thing that is common is the contempt for the place of Santa Maria and the eagerness to be the part of the happenings there while secretly wanting to see the down fall of its might.

Every relationship of Medina is a bit complex, or always under some wrap, not allowing the reader to get the full details of the character. His relationship with Freida , his long time lover , Gurisa his model and new girlfriend , the short stint with Junaina the model , prostitute and occasional lover of Frieda, Seoane , allegedly his son ( though we don't get the full picture of this side) and others are all written and described under a cloud of uncertainties.

"He only looked at Medina and the later understood and remembered that he had hated that man, without ever having seen him, since the very first day of his life, perhaps since even before he was born. But it wasn't the hatred of one person for another; it was like the hatred of an inescapable thing. It was the hatred of all sufferings - mingled like one wave with another, whether the sufferings were great or small- that had been inflicted on him by childhood." .... this summarises the general feel of this novel.

I am certain that this is not the best or most important work of this prolific writer. However, this gives me a glimpse to his style or writing. Moreover, it is important to know this author and his life before appreciating this novel , and this has some personal traits.

Juan Carlos Onetti was born in Montevideo of Uruguay. He never completed his secondary education and spent his first twenty years in his native Uruguay, working in odd jobs. He then moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he worked as a journalist and began publishing short stories in the early 1930s. From 1946 to 1955 Onetti edited the Vea y Lea, in Buenos Aires. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1974 by the military dictators and was exiled to Spain. He lived in Madrid till his death in 1994 . Onetti, writer of many novels and short stories is one of the important figure in the Latin American Literature.

And what's more, I'm thinking of the wind now. It wont be long now. But who can guess which way the wind will blow ?

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Let the Wind Speak

Juan Carlos Onetti

Translated by Helen Lane

Serpent's Tail , London
279 Pages

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More read : Ronald de Feo , about the author