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Familia Aragón #3
Tyrant Memory
Castellanos Moya’s most thrilling book to date, about the senselessness of tyranny. The tyrant of Horacio Castellanos Moya’s ambitious new novel is the actual pro-Nazi mystic Maximiliano Hernández MartÃnez â€� known as the Warlock â€� who came to power in El Salvador in 1932. An attempted coup in April, 1944, failed, but a general strike in May finally forced him out of office. Tyrant Memory takes place during the month between the coup and the strike. Its protagonist, Haydée Aragon, is a well-off woman, whose husband is a political prisoner and whose son, Clemente, after prematurely announcing the dictator’s death over national radio during the failed coup, is forced to flee when the very much alive Warlock starts to ruthlessly hunt down his enemies. The novel moves between Haydée’s political awakening in diary entries and Clemente’s frantic and often hysterically comic efforts to escape capture. Tyrant Memory â€� sharp, grotesque, moving, and often hilariously funny â€� is an unforgettable incarnation of a country’s history in the destiny of one family.
330 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2008
13 people are currently reading
410 people want to read
About the author
Horacio Castellanos Moya
42Ìýbooks232ÌýfollowersHORACIO CASTELLANOS MOYA is a writer and a journalist from El Salvador. For two decades he worked as editor of news agencies, magazines and newspapers in Mexico, Guatemala and his own country. As a fiction writer, he was granted residencies in a program supported by the Frankfurt International Book Fair (2004-2006) and in the City of Asylum program in Pittsburgh (2006-2008). He has also taught in the Writing Program at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2009, he was guest researcher at the University of Tokyo with a fellowship granted by the Japan Foundation. He has published eleven novels, five short story collections, two essay books, and a diary. His novels have been translated into twelve languages; five of them (Senselessness, The She-Devil in the mirror, Dance with Snakes, Revulsion, and Tyrant memory) are available in English. He was awarded the Manuel Rojas Iberoamerican Prize for Fiction 2014, by the Government of Chile.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
May 2, 2011
tyrant memory (tirana memoria), castellanos moya's fourth (and longest) work to be translated into english, takes place in the tumultuous spring of 1944, during which metaphysically-inclined salvadoran president maximiliano hernández martinez ("the warlock") survives a coup but is ultimately deposed following the student-led strike of fallen arms. the story, while based on historical events, is a fictionalized one. the tale concerns the aragon family, and the tribulations they are forced to endure as a result of political repression in a time of great change and uncertainty.
the narrative shifts between the diary entries of haydée (wife of pericles, a journalist and former presidential secretary now held as a political prisoner, and mother to clemen, a dissident and newly-minted enemy of the state) and the third-person account of clemen's sometimes comical attempts at evasion and escape. these alternating sequences lend tyrant memory a startling quality, as the diarist's worrisome writings complement the humorous antics of the fleeing clemente well. although castellanos moya had not yet been born at the time of hernández martinez's reign, the story (originally published in spanish in 2008) presumably was a very personal one to have written.
tyrant memory is a fantastic novel, though it seems to lack much of the gravitas that made both senselessness and the she-devil in the mirror so sensational. the political novel is common to latin american literature (whether as subject or setting), and castellanos moya's effort will surely rank amongst the finer of them. it does not, however, muster the same emotional power and haunting intensity often found in the writings of, say, mario benedetti or ariel dorfman. nonetheless, tyrant memory is an excellent work of fiction, one that hopefully precedes the translation of many more of his works into english (especially his collections of short stories!).
tyrant memory was rendered from the spanish by katherine silver, translator of his other two novels published by new directions.
the narrative shifts between the diary entries of haydée (wife of pericles, a journalist and former presidential secretary now held as a political prisoner, and mother to clemen, a dissident and newly-minted enemy of the state) and the third-person account of clemen's sometimes comical attempts at evasion and escape. these alternating sequences lend tyrant memory a startling quality, as the diarist's worrisome writings complement the humorous antics of the fleeing clemente well. although castellanos moya had not yet been born at the time of hernández martinez's reign, the story (originally published in spanish in 2008) presumably was a very personal one to have written.
tyrant memory is a fantastic novel, though it seems to lack much of the gravitas that made both senselessness and the she-devil in the mirror so sensational. the political novel is common to latin american literature (whether as subject or setting), and castellanos moya's effort will surely rank amongst the finer of them. it does not, however, muster the same emotional power and haunting intensity often found in the writings of, say, mario benedetti or ariel dorfman. nonetheless, tyrant memory is an excellent work of fiction, one that hopefully precedes the translation of many more of his works into english (especially his collections of short stories!).
i woke up in a cold sweat at the very moment he was fleeing under a hail of bullets. i haven't been able to shut my eyes again.
tyrant memory was rendered from the spanish by katherine silver, translator of his other two novels published by new directions.
November 7, 2011
an interesting novel in diary form detailing san salvador in 1944, just before the "nazi warlock" matrinez "stepped down" from the dictatorship of el salvador. The diarist is a compelling and sympathetic character who is driven to activism because her family (husband in prison, oldest son on the lam) is finally is so threatened she MUST act, fight back. then a funny little twist at the end of the novel, long after diarist is dead, and husband is old and dying, that we find maybe a reliable narrator is not as trustworthy and "truthful" as it seemed.
June 5, 2011
Not as captivating as Moya's Senselessness, but to be honest, not many books are. Set primarily during the fateful April/May of 1944 when the pro-Nazi, mystic "Warlock" was overthrown in El Salvador, this novel focuses on Dona Haydee's role in the coup, while her husband is imprisoned and her son is chased by the authorities.
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July 31, 2023
Cuando Pericles Aragón, periodista muy crÃtico con el gobierno de el Brujo, dictador salvadoreño, es arrestado y entra en prisión, su mujer Haydée decide escribir un diario de los acontecimientos.
Sin proponérselo, anotando lo que para ella serÃan las conversaciones con su marido, el diario irá narrando la progresión de los arrestos, el traslado a la penitenciarÃa, las prohibiciones de las visitas y, simultáneamente, el entorno familiar y social del matrimonio: las diferencias entre sus respectivos padres –uno militar, adicto al régimen, y el otro liberal, opuesto al tiranoâ€� y los destinos de sus tres hijos. Se prepara por entonces un golpe de Estado.
Precisamente Clemen, el hijo disoluto e irresponsable de Pericles y Haydée, es quien protagoniza la otra lÃnea narrativa: el relato de las peripecias de dos fugados conspiradores que tienen que poner tierra de por medio.
De esta manera, la novela de aventuras, con momentos desopilantes, alterna con la seriedad y el honesto dramatismo del despertar de la conciencia de Haydée, comprometida con su marido y la causa que representa. En un ejercicio prodigioso de encarnación de la historia de un paÃs en los destinos de una familia, Tirana memoria reconstruye los episodios fundacionales de una saga que se ha ramificado en una serie de novelas, entre otras o .
Sin proponérselo, anotando lo que para ella serÃan las conversaciones con su marido, el diario irá narrando la progresión de los arrestos, el traslado a la penitenciarÃa, las prohibiciones de las visitas y, simultáneamente, el entorno familiar y social del matrimonio: las diferencias entre sus respectivos padres –uno militar, adicto al régimen, y el otro liberal, opuesto al tiranoâ€� y los destinos de sus tres hijos. Se prepara por entonces un golpe de Estado.
Precisamente Clemen, el hijo disoluto e irresponsable de Pericles y Haydée, es quien protagoniza la otra lÃnea narrativa: el relato de las peripecias de dos fugados conspiradores que tienen que poner tierra de por medio.
De esta manera, la novela de aventuras, con momentos desopilantes, alterna con la seriedad y el honesto dramatismo del despertar de la conciencia de Haydée, comprometida con su marido y la causa que representa. En un ejercicio prodigioso de encarnación de la historia de un paÃs en los destinos de una familia, Tirana memoria reconstruye los episodios fundacionales de una saga que se ha ramificado en una serie de novelas, entre otras o .
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March 19, 2012Tyrant Memory by Horacio Castellanos Moya (Trans. from the Spanish by Katherine Silver, New Directions, 2011).
I read this novel a few months after having read Moya’s The She-Devil in the Mirror (New Directions, 2009), both translated by Katherine Silver. They are equally captivating, both written, at least in part, in the voice of a woman who, although apparently apolitical, ends up being, through her record (her diary in Tyrant Memory; her monologue in The-She Devil) an incredible witness to a crisis in a chaotic San Salvador. I should add that the author himself, born in Honduras but raised in El Salvador, has been living in exile as part of the City of Asylum project in Pittsburgh.
The events in Tyrant Memory take place in 1944, when the general leading the country with a dictatorial fist is forced to resign after weeks of political turmoil. The crime in The She-Devil is non-political, but the background is the chaos of post-civil war. Both novels have an immediacy that reminds me of Bolaño’s style in The Savage Detectives (though I confess I only managed to read half of that novel). Although Tyrant Memory doesn’t claim to adhere strictly to history, I couldn’t help notice the slight inadequacy of the word “Nazi� used by both the opposition and the general to insult each other. I doubt the word was used in this way in 1944.
Moya is a writer definitely worth reading, and his translator, Katherine Silver deserves, I think, as much praise as him for her outstanding translations.
I read this novel a few months after having read Moya’s The She-Devil in the Mirror (New Directions, 2009), both translated by Katherine Silver. They are equally captivating, both written, at least in part, in the voice of a woman who, although apparently apolitical, ends up being, through her record (her diary in Tyrant Memory; her monologue in The-She Devil) an incredible witness to a crisis in a chaotic San Salvador. I should add that the author himself, born in Honduras but raised in El Salvador, has been living in exile as part of the City of Asylum project in Pittsburgh.
The events in Tyrant Memory take place in 1944, when the general leading the country with a dictatorial fist is forced to resign after weeks of political turmoil. The crime in The She-Devil is non-political, but the background is the chaos of post-civil war. Both novels have an immediacy that reminds me of Bolaño’s style in The Savage Detectives (though I confess I only managed to read half of that novel). Although Tyrant Memory doesn’t claim to adhere strictly to history, I couldn’t help notice the slight inadequacy of the word “Nazi� used by both the opposition and the general to insult each other. I doubt the word was used in this way in 1944.
Moya is a writer definitely worth reading, and his translator, Katherine Silver deserves, I think, as much praise as him for her outstanding translations.
March 20, 2023
BuenÃsima novela. El inicio de la saga de la familia Aragón, que después aparece en otros libros de Castellanos Moya. De hecho, tuve que releer alguno que otro (el sueño del retorno) para acordarme.
Alterna la perspectiva de una doña fresa que se ve súbitamente empujada a politizarse contra un dictador que ha arrestado a su marido y perseguido a sus hijos, y los periplos patéticos del hijo mientras huye después de que fracasara un golpe de estado. Es algo asà como la génesis del interés del autor en las posibilidades frustradas de revolucionar un paÃs secuestrado por la oligarquÃa.
Alterna la perspectiva de una doña fresa que se ve súbitamente empujada a politizarse contra un dictador que ha arrestado a su marido y perseguido a sus hijos, y los periplos patéticos del hijo mientras huye después de que fracasara un golpe de estado. Es algo asà como la génesis del interés del autor en las posibilidades frustradas de revolucionar un paÃs secuestrado por la oligarquÃa.
May 12, 2018
Una novela ambiciosa y dinámica por donde quiera vérsele. No estoy totalmente seguro si Castellanos Moya sea un autor de primer orden, pues no he leÃdo más que dos novelas suyas, pero parece que tiene los argumentos para serlo. Las historias entrelazadas de Haydée, los fugitivos Jimmy y Clemen y el desenlace de Pericles son entrañables y cada una adopta una técnica distinta, otorgando efectos de lectura muy diversos.
De verdad que vale la pena leer a este gran autor salvadoreño.
De verdad que vale la pena leer a este gran autor salvadoreño.
June 8, 2013
horacio castellanos moya here presents a novel of historical fiction centered around a failed coup d'etat in 1944 el salvador. the work balances between the diary of a woman, haydee, who worries about her husband who is a political prisoner and who becomes an unlikely activist, and the story of her son, who is a fugitive from the military after taking part in the failed coup. this book is, um, ok. the diary is compelling as it presents a cultural context that provides an international point of relation: we are all worried mothers, worried wives. we are not political activists storming the barricades. we are the ones who hide in the house and worry about the ones storming the barricades, until out of neccessity (and historically speaking this necessity always arrives) it IS us storming the barricades. this is moving until it comes to the conclusion that we sort of knew it would all along, and then it just stops. equally compelling but MUCH more clumsily written is the all-unattributed-dialog section, in which haydee's son clemen and a member of the resistance hide in an attic, in a cabin, in a boat. they often describe things as they would never describe in real life, because they would obviously be experiencing it, e.g. "Oh no! The boat is capsizing!" - this clumsiness is so frequent that it's offputting. All this is capped by a third section, thirty years later, about the death of the novel's patriarch symbolizing exactly what, I'm not sure. after the coup comes to a halt, we're given another forty pages of this dead weight. bummer.
August 18, 2011
A damn fine read, though my least favorite of the four English translations of Castellanos Moya. I know comparing this to his other books is not the best way to judge it, but after Senselessness everything else pales. Nevertheless, there are some stunning moments and it is, overall, a tight political novel with a poignant ending. He’s still my favorite living writer.
April 26, 2013
Mostly memorable for its unique format, this book reads like a Coen brothers movie. Hilarious and dark, Horacio Castellanos Moya has the sense to not take himself too seriously, even while all of his characters are humorlessly self-involved. Definitely worth reading no matter what, but even more rewarding with some historical background knowledge.
March 28, 2012
A woman keeps a diary during a failed coup, which involves her inept son and imprisoned husband. She's charmingly naive, so her observations are often chuckle-worthy. But then we're given chapters about said son, which are chuck-away-this-book-worthy.
February 19, 2020
Une page ouverte sur l'Histoire
"La mémoire tyrannique" de Horacio Castellanos Moya est pour moi une merveilleuse surprise. Passionnée par le Seconde Guerre Mondiale, j'étais jusqu'à maintenant restée sur l'Europe. L'auteur nous ouvre ici une page de l'Histoire sur ce qui se jouait au Salvador en 1944. En effet, on y retrouve "le sorcier" ou "le nazi", termes utilisés pour référer au dictateur Maximiliano Hernandez.
Monté au pouvoir en 1931, il mène une dictature militaire et exécute de nombreux paysans et opposants, sans grand discernement. Plusieurs coups d'états sont menés contre lui, pourtant sans succès. C'est finalement une grève générale pacifique, portée par les étudiants, qui le mène à sa perte. En effet, la population entière ne sort plus, paralysant complètement la vie économique du Salvador. Le dictateur démissionne alors, avant de s'exiler au Guatemala.
Bien que l'auteur base son roman sur cette page de l'Histoire, il note à la fin qu'il a modelé l'Histoire pour qu'elle colle à sa fiction.
Une histoire contée par plusieurs voix
La majeure partie de ce roman se joue à deux voix.
La première, celle de Haydée, femme de Pericles, prisonnier politique à cause de ses critiques du dictateur. Du 24 Mars au 8 Mai 1944, elle consigne quotidiennement les événements de la journée, et ses pensées. Elle raconte l'emprisonnement de son mari et les visite qu'elle lui rend. Elle réfléchit à sa vie seule, à sa tristesse, et à la vie qui continue. Lorsque son fils, Clemente, participe au putsch contre le Dictateur et disparaît suite à sa condamnation à mort, Haydée tombe dans l'angoisse. Mais grâce aux femmes des prisonniers politiques, elle reste active et prend part, elle aussi, à la résistance. À coups de pancartes, de protestations et de marches, elles essaient de convaincre le gouvernement de libérer son mari et d'accorder l'amnistie à son fils.
De l'autre côté, on suit la fuite de Clemente avec son cousin Jimmy. Gamin insupportable n'ayant pas l'air d'avoir conscience du risque qu'ils encourent, il enchaîne les bêtises. De ce fait, Jimmy et Clemente passent plusieurs fois à côté de la mort. Aidés par quelques opposants, il essaient de sortir du pays.
L'histoire se termine en 1975, du point de vue d'un vieil ami de Pericles.
Mon avis
Comme mentionné plus haut, cette lecture est une belle surprise. J'avais quelques doutes concernant le fait que j'allais apprécier, mais ce roman les a vite balayé. J'ai adoré découvrir cette période de l'Histoire en Amérique centrale que je ne connaissais pas du tout.
L'alternance des points de vue rend l'histoire vivante et permet de mettre en lumière tous les détails de cette période. On perçoit alors l'inquiétude d'Haydée, l'immaturité de Clemen, son angoisse et celle de Jimmy, ainsi que la lassitude de ce dernier. Au gré du roman, j'ai fini par préférer les passages traitant de Jimmy et Clemen. En effet, ceux-ci nous mènent directement dans l'action, avec une narration plus classique enrichie de dialogue. Cependant, je chéris profondément les descriptions dans les romans, et il m'en a manqué ici. Toutefois, ça n'a pas altéré ma compréhension de l'histoire ni mon appréciation.
De son côté, le journal de Haydée paraissait parfois un peu long et j'avais hâte de retourner aux aventures de Clemente. Mais il me semble en effet nécessaire pour avoir toutes les clés de l'histoire.
En somme, "La mémoire tyrannique" est une superbe plongée dans l'Histoire du Salvador, ponctuée de passages véritablement haletants.
"La mémoire tyrannique" de Horacio Castellanos Moya est pour moi une merveilleuse surprise. Passionnée par le Seconde Guerre Mondiale, j'étais jusqu'à maintenant restée sur l'Europe. L'auteur nous ouvre ici une page de l'Histoire sur ce qui se jouait au Salvador en 1944. En effet, on y retrouve "le sorcier" ou "le nazi", termes utilisés pour référer au dictateur Maximiliano Hernandez.
Monté au pouvoir en 1931, il mène une dictature militaire et exécute de nombreux paysans et opposants, sans grand discernement. Plusieurs coups d'états sont menés contre lui, pourtant sans succès. C'est finalement une grève générale pacifique, portée par les étudiants, qui le mène à sa perte. En effet, la population entière ne sort plus, paralysant complètement la vie économique du Salvador. Le dictateur démissionne alors, avant de s'exiler au Guatemala.
Bien que l'auteur base son roman sur cette page de l'Histoire, il note à la fin qu'il a modelé l'Histoire pour qu'elle colle à sa fiction.
Une histoire contée par plusieurs voix
La majeure partie de ce roman se joue à deux voix.
La première, celle de Haydée, femme de Pericles, prisonnier politique à cause de ses critiques du dictateur. Du 24 Mars au 8 Mai 1944, elle consigne quotidiennement les événements de la journée, et ses pensées. Elle raconte l'emprisonnement de son mari et les visite qu'elle lui rend. Elle réfléchit à sa vie seule, à sa tristesse, et à la vie qui continue. Lorsque son fils, Clemente, participe au putsch contre le Dictateur et disparaît suite à sa condamnation à mort, Haydée tombe dans l'angoisse. Mais grâce aux femmes des prisonniers politiques, elle reste active et prend part, elle aussi, à la résistance. À coups de pancartes, de protestations et de marches, elles essaient de convaincre le gouvernement de libérer son mari et d'accorder l'amnistie à son fils.
De l'autre côté, on suit la fuite de Clemente avec son cousin Jimmy. Gamin insupportable n'ayant pas l'air d'avoir conscience du risque qu'ils encourent, il enchaîne les bêtises. De ce fait, Jimmy et Clemente passent plusieurs fois à côté de la mort. Aidés par quelques opposants, il essaient de sortir du pays.
L'histoire se termine en 1975, du point de vue d'un vieil ami de Pericles.
Mon avis
Comme mentionné plus haut, cette lecture est une belle surprise. J'avais quelques doutes concernant le fait que j'allais apprécier, mais ce roman les a vite balayé. J'ai adoré découvrir cette période de l'Histoire en Amérique centrale que je ne connaissais pas du tout.
L'alternance des points de vue rend l'histoire vivante et permet de mettre en lumière tous les détails de cette période. On perçoit alors l'inquiétude d'Haydée, l'immaturité de Clemen, son angoisse et celle de Jimmy, ainsi que la lassitude de ce dernier. Au gré du roman, j'ai fini par préférer les passages traitant de Jimmy et Clemen. En effet, ceux-ci nous mènent directement dans l'action, avec une narration plus classique enrichie de dialogue. Cependant, je chéris profondément les descriptions dans les romans, et il m'en a manqué ici. Toutefois, ça n'a pas altéré ma compréhension de l'histoire ni mon appréciation.
De son côté, le journal de Haydée paraissait parfois un peu long et j'avais hâte de retourner aux aventures de Clemente. Mais il me semble en effet nécessaire pour avoir toutes les clés de l'histoire.
En somme, "La mémoire tyrannique" est une superbe plongée dans l'Histoire du Salvador, ponctuée de passages véritablement haletants.
January 31, 2025
I actually find this novel difficult to review. It was an excellent book. I liked the anxiety versus the mundane amalgamation Haydée. I liked the build-up of tension. I thought many things were done extremely well, and I would absolutely pick up Moya again.
However, I do not like the way this novel is pitched. It is pitched as a black-humour. I see where parts were supposed to be humorous, but I did not find them so. Clemens, as a character, was so annoying, and his part of the novel felt jarring to me. Less talk from him would have been better.
This novel was the first book chosen as part of a challenge to Read the World in Translation and the first country prompt was El Salvador. I was surprised when I discovered Moya is sometimes listed under Honduras rather than El Salvador, which I consider a misnomer given he was born in Honduras and lived his first four years there, but spent the rest of his formative years and much of his adulthood in El Salvador. One his parents is also Salvadoran.
I thought the book was an excellent choice as a novel to represent El Salvador - it provided a good snapshot of Salvadoran history and politics, and I would recommend it for that reason.
However, I do not like the way this novel is pitched. It is pitched as a black-humour. I see where parts were supposed to be humorous, but I did not find them so. Clemens, as a character, was so annoying, and his part of the novel felt jarring to me. Less talk from him would have been better.
This novel was the first book chosen as part of a challenge to Read the World in Translation and the first country prompt was El Salvador. I was surprised when I discovered Moya is sometimes listed under Honduras rather than El Salvador, which I consider a misnomer given he was born in Honduras and lived his first four years there, but spent the rest of his formative years and much of his adulthood in El Salvador. One his parents is also Salvadoran.
I thought the book was an excellent choice as a novel to represent El Salvador - it provided a good snapshot of Salvadoran history and politics, and I would recommend it for that reason.
February 2, 2019
Périclès is the son of a coronel who starts his career at the military academy before serving as a diplomat and as secretary for a cruel dictator. But when he shares the last moments of a revolutionary destined to the firing squad, the latter tells him: « You are going to be one of us ». And indeed, Périclès leaves the service of the regime, writes for an opposition newspaper, and when he is not in jail or in exile, serves a fervent supporter of the revolution.
Haydée, his wife, is the daughter of a rich landowner. The novel is built around her diary in which every evening she writes down her memories and emotions. At the beginning her concerns are those of a high society woman: cocktail parties, how to dress, who to invite� But when her husband is thrown in jail and her son must escape after a failed coup, she joins a group of prisoners� wives and step-by-step gains in courage. She organizes secret meetings during church services to collect and transmit funds for the students planning a strike.
Haydée, his wife, is the daughter of a rich landowner. The novel is built around her diary in which every evening she writes down her memories and emotions. At the beginning her concerns are those of a high society woman: cocktail parties, how to dress, who to invite� But when her husband is thrown in jail and her son must escape after a failed coup, she joins a group of prisoners� wives and step-by-step gains in courage. She organizes secret meetings during church services to collect and transmit funds for the students planning a strike.
May 6, 2018
Se lee fácil.
Es un poco triste darse cuenta, por la historia que cuenta que aunque ficción, es realmente parte de la historia de El Salvador (y como tal de latino américa), el por qué fueron llamadas "repúblicas bananeras" durante un tiempo. Nuestros paÃses se desarrollaron en un ambiente casi feudal con un reyecito dueño de la vida y muerte de sus "súbditos" que reinaba hasta que llegaba otro que lo reemplazaba...
En fin, una de las razones por las que leo es para poder ir aprendiendo algo más del género humano y de su desarrollo social o en sociedad; este libro me es un aporte y la forma en que está escrito mantiene el interés permanente por la lectura. Tal vez lo que menos me gustó fue la segunda parte que si bien está bien concebida, me parece un poco floja en la realización.
Es un poco triste darse cuenta, por la historia que cuenta que aunque ficción, es realmente parte de la historia de El Salvador (y como tal de latino américa), el por qué fueron llamadas "repúblicas bananeras" durante un tiempo. Nuestros paÃses se desarrollaron en un ambiente casi feudal con un reyecito dueño de la vida y muerte de sus "súbditos" que reinaba hasta que llegaba otro que lo reemplazaba...
En fin, una de las razones por las que leo es para poder ir aprendiendo algo más del género humano y de su desarrollo social o en sociedad; este libro me es un aporte y la forma en que está escrito mantiene el interés permanente por la lectura. Tal vez lo que menos me gustó fue la segunda parte que si bien está bien concebida, me parece un poco floja en la realización.
May 2, 2022
Tyrant Memory was a disappointment for me. I was very sympathetic to the concept and the topic but the execution left me flat. The story seemed uninspired and the character's narration largely boring. At times, it seemed the book would have been better as an outline for a screenplay; it needed more substance. Like the book in general, I felt the characters lacked depth. I was also led to believe that despite its somber topic, it contained a degree of black humor. Kept waiting for something amusing. Maybe my sense of humor is impaired.
June 22, 2022
#105: El Salvador 🇸🇻.
A brilliant novel set (mostly) in 1944 El Salvador during and after the failed coup against the then dictator. The serious side is thendiary of the wifenof a political prisoner. The comic relief comes from the story of her son, who was involved in the coup and is trying to escape from the country together with an army officer whom he hates. The epilogue, set in 1974, fills in the gaps in the story.
Excellent style, engrossing reading.
A brilliant novel set (mostly) in 1944 El Salvador during and after the failed coup against the then dictator. The serious side is thendiary of the wifenof a political prisoner. The comic relief comes from the story of her son, who was involved in the coup and is trying to escape from the country together with an army officer whom he hates. The epilogue, set in 1974, fills in the gaps in the story.
Excellent style, engrossing reading.
August 7, 2023
Espero que algún dÃa, cuando Horacio “termineâ€� su saga de la familia Aragón, algún buen editor la ponga toda en un solo tomo. LeÃda asà toda de un tirón es una joya. En esta, de más largo aliento, chingado, al final sà te golpea. Castellanos Moya es uno de los grandes, de los más grandes escritores de esta época.
October 12, 2024
Gracias a la confianza de @ctxt_es pude entrevistar a Horacio Castellanos Moya por segunda vez con motivo de la reedición de Tirana memoria. Indagué en profundidad en la saga de los Erasmo Aragón y hablamos tanto de comedia como de violencia.
January 14, 2025
Moya's historical novel that vents out his typically personal persecution complex, whether it is real or not, which ravages throughout his novels. The unnamed 'bad guy' here like in Umberto Eco's novels is specifically that old german-named thing: Kitsch. Be it in politics and in culture.
Coincidentally, Luther Blisset/Wu Ming also focus persecution complex-filled plots only that their timelines are much more anachronic and international.
Coincidentally, Luther Blisset/Wu Ming also focus persecution complex-filled plots only that their timelines are much more anachronic and international.
February 3, 2022
Es un gran libro. DifÃcil entender cómo toda una época cabe en una novela, pero no extraña que Castellanos Moya lo logre.
December 7, 2011
I really enjoyed the first half of this but felt it faltered significantly in the second half for a few reasons: 1) While I understand that the goal was to suggest a larger narrative through oblique techniques (i.e. Haydee's diary and the almost play-scripted scenes with Jimmy and Clemen), the introduction of plot points and important details (like characters' names, backstory and relationships) often felt quite forced/unnatural within the logic of the narrative itself (i.e. if Haydee is keeping a journal for herself and knows how characters are related, why would she include such information?). Perhaps this was the point, but I think it was jarring and ultimately didn't work. 2) I found the translation often not very enjoyable to read. Sure, it was correct, but often correct to the point of not being idiomatic--as if it were rendered by algorithm rather than by a living person who speaks contemporary English. I will note that I had the same issue with Silver's translation of Senselessness (which was much-lauded, I know, but read to me as rendered in professional translater-ese rather than flowing prose), but I thought Senselessness was such a great book it survived a less-than-great translation. This one not so much--though it's still very good. I'm not sure whether the awkward phrasings reflect Castellanos Moya's style or are Silver's shortcoming--her translations of Aira read well, but Aira writes short sentences without Moya's dependent clauses, and it's a big ask for any writer/translator to cover such diverse styles well...anyway, maybe I am oversensitive to these things, so grain of salt etc., but I thought this was yet another meh book in translation by a great writer in a year full of meh books in translation by great writers...
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September 19, 2016Tyrant Memory is the first Horacio Castellanos Moya novel I've read, chosen for the wonderfully resonant title with meanings reverberating between the two words.
But I think something's wrong here, possibly the translation. The voices seemed inauthentic, especially the style in which Haydée's diary was written, but most of all the unconvincing voices of her son Clemente, on the run for political activity against the dictator which was little more than a youthful larking around for him, despite his father having been detained for weeks now by the regime. At times it seemed simply anachronistic or perhaps the slang just too foreign to El Salvador. To me nothing seemed amusing, let alone hilariously funny, about his and his companion's complicated attempts to escape, and their contentious relationship was unpleasant to be around even in print.
All along, while struggling against the presentation's problems, Tyrant Memory seemed so sad, the later tyrants yet to appear and to be fought always lurking in the back of the mind, those drove so many El Salvadorans and other South and Central Americans, among them wonderful writers, into exile, each giving us his/her own melancholy views of politics and art while robbing them of their homelands and local audiences.
Yet there was enough there -- the detailed depiction of how upper-class prisoners are treated and how outraged their families are when their position in society isn't accorded respect, for one small example -- that I'll try more of Castellanos Moya, now that he's come to my attention. I'm hoping he has more than one translator.
But I think something's wrong here, possibly the translation. The voices seemed inauthentic, especially the style in which Haydée's diary was written, but most of all the unconvincing voices of her son Clemente, on the run for political activity against the dictator which was little more than a youthful larking around for him, despite his father having been detained for weeks now by the regime. At times it seemed simply anachronistic or perhaps the slang just too foreign to El Salvador. To me nothing seemed amusing, let alone hilariously funny, about his and his companion's complicated attempts to escape, and their contentious relationship was unpleasant to be around even in print.
All along, while struggling against the presentation's problems, Tyrant Memory seemed so sad, the later tyrants yet to appear and to be fought always lurking in the back of the mind, those drove so many El Salvadorans and other South and Central Americans, among them wonderful writers, into exile, each giving us his/her own melancholy views of politics and art while robbing them of their homelands and local audiences.
Yet there was enough there -- the detailed depiction of how upper-class prisoners are treated and how outraged their families are when their position in society isn't accorded respect, for one small example -- that I'll try more of Castellanos Moya, now that he's come to my attention. I'm hoping he has more than one translator.
June 4, 2015
Tyrant memory, Moya is quickly becoming one of my favorite living writers and I thought this was the best work I've read of his...so far and I didn't expect that to be case as it is historical fiction and with the main character not being in the mold of the previous two (Dreams of my Return, Senselessness...) where they are despearte drunk sex-obsessed men (I like that type of rantingness and anxiety a lot)...but Haydee is a beautiful character, I fell in love with her a bit and her diary entries and the interspersed chapters involving her son (a sex and booze obsessed dumb ass and his cousin) trying to escape their failed coup attempt are full of action and nerves and actual laugh out loud parts....wonderfully calibrated book, I also love learning a bit about some of the history in Latin America....El Salvador was run by a occultist nazi dictator from 1932-1944 what the...?, it is Haydee's book in a way but it is also a book about Pericles and the way he is thought about throughout and in the end...everything is, ultimately, essential
June 4, 2012
I found the beginning of the book really badly written, full of unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, but then it improves and some of the writting becomes quite good. Unfortunately I think Castellanos Moya chose the wrong narrator. Her point of view is quite shallow and many times uninteresting. I don't understand why he picked that narrator for the closing of the book either. His is a character that never appears in the story (he is mentioned but that's it). I think it diminishes the effectiveness to the idea of concluding in the future when everybody is old and tired. Also, I don't understand why it was dedicated to Pericle's death, when Haydee is truly the main character. I give the book three stars only because I am salvadorean and can empathise with the historical aspects of the story. Purely as a piece of literature it probably only deserves two.
December 1, 2012
Still making my way through this one. I do like it but am not racing through. Probably because I am not familiar with El Salvador and its dramatic history. Already have Senselessness from the library.
Having finished Senselessness since finishing this novel I would probably rate it a 5, but I will stick with my first impression which was three stars. I was so thoroughly impressed with Senselessness I felt I understood Moya's style and could then understand Tyrant Memory. I missed a lot of the "pitch-perfect, pitch-black humor" And when I finally reached Part Two I felt I had totally missed the point of the novel. Pericles was in jail during the coup and the strike and was a very minor character I thought. But Part Two was all Pericles. Before Senselessness I did not understand. But after reading it I now know. Moya is awesome!!!!
Having finished Senselessness since finishing this novel I would probably rate it a 5, but I will stick with my first impression which was three stars. I was so thoroughly impressed with Senselessness I felt I understood Moya's style and could then understand Tyrant Memory. I missed a lot of the "pitch-perfect, pitch-black humor" And when I finally reached Part Two I felt I had totally missed the point of the novel. Pericles was in jail during the coup and the strike and was a very minor character I thought. But Part Two was all Pericles. Before Senselessness I did not understand. But after reading it I now know. Moya is awesome!!!!
May 7, 2021
Lo que más me gustó de este libro fue ver el "otro lado" de la actividad polÃtica. Una mujer de alcurnia se ve traspasada por la pérdida de libertades tanto de su marido como de su hijo, ambos activistas polÃticos. La necesidad se supervivencia y el terror a la muerte de sus seres queridos la llevan a verse inmersa en una polÃtica de la que renegaba, pues era "cosa de hombres". La mirada que tiene hacia la polÃtica y hacia el compromiso social es muy interesante: nace de una total ingenuidad y con esa base se mueve desde un sentimiento, aunque a veces tambaleante, verdadero, que nace del corazón.
May 16, 2013
I chose to read this book in order to learn about the culture of El Salvador since I will be going on a mission trip there this summer. I enjoyed reading the book and learning the history and culture, but felt that it left many gaps as to what happened to many of the characters after the strike. It is touched on briefly, but I would have liked to have known more of their story. Another chapter on Clemente and Jimmy's return to society would have been helpful.
April 24, 2014
There's a great story in here somewhere but unfortunately it doesn't emerge. One would think a week or two in the life of a failed El Salvador Coup could not be dull, but much of the narration happens through a wealthy woman writing in her diary, juxtaposed to the parallel story of two members of the failed revolutionaries (one is the son of the woman)trying to escape. I wondered if some of the problem was caused by a poor translation because the diary part comes across as dry non-fiction.
September 20, 2013
So-so book with a so-so plot that was actually quite boring to read even though the blurbs on the back say otherwise. I found nothing "hysterically funny" or "brilliant" or "masterful" about it. I am incensed by insult with the idea promoted by the publisher that this book is "pitch-perfect" with "pitch-black humor". Poppycock and an awful shame to waste ones time.
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