The Peron Novel

By Tomás Eloy Martínez and Tomas Eloy Eloy Martinez

Book Overview

"One of the most original and entertaining books to come out of Latin America in recent years."--Mario Vargas Llosa On June 20, 1973, General Juan Peron, the most revered--as well as the most hated--dictator in the history of Argentina, returned to his homeland after eighteen years of exile. His arrival was the occasion for a fratricidal massacre. Less than a year later, Peron was dead. The throngs that filed past his body as it lay in state were as vast and impassioned as those that had mourned his wife, Evita, the music hall performer Peron had turned into Argentina's secular saint and who embalmed corpse he had turned into his personal talisman. Out of the facts of this enigmatic despot's life, the Argentine journalist and novelist Tomas Eloy Martinez has created a novel who fantasy only heightens its humanity. For in The Peron Novel the mask of history is lifted to reveal a tragically hollow man who was a born follower until the moment he found himself transformed into a leader. The result is a tour de force, the most audacious and compelling meditation on absolute power since Gabriel Garcia Marquez's The Autumn of the Patriarch. "A brilliant image of national psychosis. Vividly written."-- The New York Times Book Review

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679768017
• ISBN13: 9780679768012
• Release Date: December 1998
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Wildly intelligent book

Since there is no synopsis of the book here, I will write one and then write my opinion.It is 1973 and Peron is summoned back to Argentina after 18? years in exile in Madrid. He is now an old man and his movement has moved beyond his own strict ideology. His return is viewed through the eyes of no fewer than 20 people, who are in the process of making some sense out of Peron's life and his tendency towards Megalomania. These range from his wife, Isabella, his relatives, his president, ex-military companions, and some wierd extremist groups (which I DID NOT understand, sorry Tomas). OK- now I transition into opinion. The truly unique thing about this book is that it centers around a one week period, but retells this same week from a multitude of standpoints, some even demented. Many times throughout the book I seriously considered flying to Iowa to hunt down the author and ask him "how much of this is true??" He puts himself in the book as a reporter, and it is plausible that he actually met Peron. I feel sure he has mountains of good info, and probably could write an engaging biography of this man (which then of course no one would read, so maybe this is his point). While I did like this book, I was much more engaged by the writing itself and the odd twists or context and historical events that he describes than in the actual content. I forced myself to read it because I knew I'd like it, more than I was compelled to read it.And if you're still reading this, go to Santa Evita and read that first, because it has all the advantages of this peculiarly odd book with a much more engaging topic. Then read this because this Tomas Eloy is a fantastic writer.