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704 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
The voice, the body are his, but he looks thirty years older. The same thin lips, the same flat nose, the same kinky hair. But now, in addition, there are purple bags on his eyelids, wrinkles on his neck, a greenish-yellow crust on his horse teeth. He thinks: they used to be so white. What a change, what a ruin of a man. He鈥檚 thinner, dirtier, so much older, but that鈥檚 his big, slow walk, those are his spider legs. His big hands have a knotty bark on them now and there鈥檚 a rim of saliva around his mouth.
Amalia went to her room, took a quick shower, she hoped she wouldn鈥檛 ask her any questions, and when she went up to the bedroom with the breakfast, from the stairs she heard the ticking and the voice of the announcer on Clock Radio. The mistress was sitting up in bed smoking and didn鈥檛 answer her good morning. The government had had a lot of patience with the people who were sowing unrest and subversion in Arequipa, the radio was saying, workers should return to work, students to their studies, and she saw the eyes of the mistress which were looking at her as if they鈥檇 just discovered her: what about the newspapers, fool? Run out and get them. Yes, right now, she ran out of the room, happy, she hadn鈥檛 even noticed. She asked S铆mula for money and went to the newsstand on the corner. Something very serious must have happened, the mistress was so pale.
脦mi amintesc c膬 un iscusit practicant al lecturii rapide (speed reading) a citit 卯n dou膬 zile R膬zboi 葯i pace. C卯nd a fost 卯ntrebat despre ce este vorba 卯n roman, a r膬spuns foarte sigur pe el: 鈥濪espre Rusia鈥�...
鈥濶u 葯ov膬ia, avea credin葲膬 - zise Santiago. 葮i eu de pe-atunci 卯i invidiam pe cei ce puteau crede orbe葯te-n ceva... Ce n-a葯 fi dat s膬 se fi inventat o pilul膬, un supozitor contra 卯ndoielilor. D膬-葲i seama ce dr膬gu葲, 葲i-l v卯ri 卯n fund 葯i gata: crezi...鈥�.
"驴En qu茅 momento se hab铆a jodido el Per煤?"Esta es la cita m谩s famosa de la novela, una pregunta a la que el autor responde negando la existencia de un momento concreto y apuntando a una concatenaci贸n de circunstancias. No es una buena respuesta, pienso yo. La verdadera respuesta, aplicable al Per煤 y a cualquier otro pa铆s pasado, presente y futuro, es que nada se jodi贸, nacimos jodidos.
鈥溍塴 era como el Per煤, Zavalita, se hab铆a jodido en alg煤n momento.鈥�Tambi茅n la novela es la b煤squeda de ese momento, y tentado estoy de negar la mayor tambi茅n en el caso personal del personaje, pero he de reconocer que en lo individual tambi茅n juegan, y mucho, las circunstancias, y, aun as铆, es necesario m谩s, porque en el Per煤 de aquellos a帽os como en cualquier otro lugar y 茅poca 鈥渆l que no se jode, jode a los dem谩s鈥� y la elecci贸n de ser uno u otro est谩 muy limitada.
鈥淒octor, doctor, tengo algo que se me sube y se me baja y no s茅 lo que es鈥� Es un pedito loco, se帽ora, usted tiene carita de poto y el pobre pedito no sabe por d贸nde salir. Lo que te friega la vida es un pedito loco, Zavalita.鈥�Zavalita tiene metida la duda en el cuerpo, una enfermedad para la que no existen supositorios y por la que se pasaba 鈥渓a vida haciendo cosas sin creer, toda la vida disimulando鈥� Y toda la vida queriendo creer en algo鈥� Y toda la vida mentira, no creo鈥�, siempre en un ni de aqu铆 ni de all铆 inc贸modo, ni proletario ni burgu茅s, 鈥渟olo una pobre mierdecita entre los dos鈥�.
鈥淎帽os que se confunden, Zavalita, mediocridad diurna y monoton铆a nocturna, cervezas, bulines. Reportajes, cr贸nicas: papel suficiente para limpiarse toda la vida, piensa. Conversaciones en el "Negro Negro", domingos con chupe de camarones, vales en la cantina de "La Cr贸nica", un pu帽ado de libros que recordar. Borracheras sin convicci贸n, Zavalita, polvos sin convicci贸n, periodismo sin convicci贸n. Deudas a fines de mes, una purgaci贸n, lenta, inexorable inmersi贸n en la mugre invisible.鈥�
丕蹖賳噩丕 丌丿賲鈥屬囏� 毓賵囟 賲蹖鈥屫促堎嗀� 賳賴 丕賵囟丕毓.
丿蹖诏乇 賳賲蹖鈥屫堌з嗁� 蹖讴 噩賵乇 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴賳賲 賵 賮讴乇賲 噩賵乇 丿蹖诏乇 亘丕卮丿.
丿賳 賮乇賲蹖賳 诏賮鬲: 芦賴賲賴 丕夭 丕賵丿乇蹖丕 卮讴丕蹖鬲 丿丕卮鬲賳丿 趩賵賳 賲蹖鈥屫藏屫�. 丕賲乇賵夭 賴賲丕賳 賯丿乇 丿夭丿蹖 賴爻鬲貙 丨鬲蹖 亘蹖卮鬲乇貙 丌賳 賵賯鬲 賴賲賴鈥屭┴� 賴賲 乇丕囟蹖 丕爻鬲.禄
诏賮鬲: 丕賳鬲禺丕亘丕鬲 馗丕賴乇爻丕夭蹖 丕爻鬲, 爻乇賴賳诏, 丕賲丕 蹖讴 馗丕賴乇爻丕夭蹖 賱丕夭賲... 诏乇蹖賳诏賵賴丕 亘賴 馗丕賴乇爻丕夭蹖 毓賯蹖丿賴 丿丕乇賳丿, 亘丕蹖丿 賲賳馗賵乇卮丕賳 乇丕 丿乇讴 讴賳蹖賲. 丌賳賴丕 丕夭 跇賳乇丕賱 乇丕囟蹖 丕賳丿 賵 鬲賳賴丕 趩蹖夭蹖 讴賴 賲蹖 禺賵丕賴賳丿 丕蹖賳 丕爻鬲 讴賴 馗賵丕賴乇 丿賲賵讴乇丕鬲蹖讴 丨賮馗 卮賵丿. 賵賯鬲蹖 丕賵丿乇蹖丕 乇蹖蹖爻 噩賲賴賵乇 賲賳鬲禺亘 亘卮賵丿 亘丕 丌睾賵卮 亘丕夭 亘賴 賲丕 丕毓鬲亘丕乇 賲蹖 丿賴賳丿.
賲诏乇 卮賲丕 倬乇賵蹖蹖 賴丕 乇丕 賳賲蹖 卮賳丕爻蹖丿... 賲丕 賲乇丿賲 睾乇蹖亘蹖 賴爻鬲蹖賲, 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕乇蹖賲 丕夭 亘丕夭賳丿賴 丨賲丕蹖鬲 讴賳蹖賲, 丕夭 讴爻蹖 讴賴 賯丿乇鬲 賳丿丕乇丿.
賲賳 賯氐丿 賳丿丕乇賲 丿乇 趩蹖夭蹖 丿讴鬲乇 卮賵賲. 鬲賵蹖 丕蹖賳 賲賲賱讴鬲 賴乇讴爻蹖 讴賴 賲蹖 亘蹖賳蹖 丿讴鬲乇 蹖讴 趩蹖夭蹖 爻鬲.
听听听听听听"I'm not being nosy, but why did you run away from home that time, son?" Ambrosio asks. "Weren't you well off at home with your folks?"
听听听听听听Don Emilio Ar茅valo was sweating; he was shaking the hands that converged on him from all sides, he wiped his forehead, smiled, waved, embraced the people on the platform, and the wooden frame swayed as Don Emilio approached the steps. Now it was your turn, Trifulcio.
听听听听听听"Too well off, that's why I left," Santiago says. "I was so pure and thick-headed that it bothered me having such an easy life and being a nice young boy.
听听听听听听"The funny thing is that the idea of putting him in jail didn't come from the Uplander," Don Ferm铆n said. "Or from Arbel谩ez or Ferro. The one who convinced them, the one who insisted was Berm煤dez."
听听听听听听"So pure and thick-headed that I thought that by fucking myself up a little I would make myself a real little man, Ambrosio," Santiago says.
听听听听听听"That all of it was the work of an insignificant Director of Public Order, an underling, I can't swallow either," Senator Landa said. "Uplander Espina invented it so he could toss the ball to someone else if things turned out badly."
听听听听听听Trifulcio was there, at the foot of the stairs, defending his place with his elbows, spitting on his hands, his gaze fanatically fastened on Don Emilio's feet, which were approaching, mixed in with others, his body tense, his feet firmly planted on the ground: his turn, it was his turn.
听听听听听听"You have to believe it because it's the truth," Don Ferm铆n said. "And don't tar him so much. Whether you like it or not, that underling is becoming the man the General trusts the most."
听听听听听听"There he is, Hip贸lito, I'm making a present of him to you," Ludovico said. "Get those ideas of being headman out of his brain once and for all."
听听听听听听"Then it wasn't because you had different political ideas from your papa?" Ambrosio asks.
听听听听听听"He believes him implicitly, he thinks he's infallible," Don Ferm铆n said. "When Berm煤dez has an opinion, Ferro, Arbel谩ez, Espina and even I can go to the devil, we don't exist. That was evident in the Montagne affair."
听听听听听听"My poor old man didn't have any political ideas," Santiago says. "Only political interests, Ambrosio."