The Dictator Novel

dictator [ dik-tey-ter, dik-tey-ter ]

1. a person exercising absolute power, especially a ruler who has absolute, unrestricted control in a government without hereditary succession.

2. (in ancient Rome) a person invested with supreme authority during a crisis, the regular magistracy being subordinated to him until the crisis was met.

3. a person who authoritatively prescribes conduct, usage, etc.:

As we are living in a world where dictators are causing chaos, an update to the old Dictator novel post is required. The one difference between these fictional dictators and the real dictators is that majority of the fictional ones came to power via coups. Whereas, most of real ones were elected. People lined up to vote. They called it democracy. Although, it is hard to see example of a proper functioning democracy anywhere in the world. Instead, we have dictators in power. They aren’t even in disguise and don’t hide their intentions. Of course, the media doesn’t use the word dictator when referencing these people but instead uses ‘strongman’ or ‘strongmen’. Interestingly, the usage of the word strongman has roots in Latin America when originally the term used to refer to dictators was caudillo, “a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power”.

Caudillo-->strongman-->dictator-->strongman. A circular reference but important nonetheless because when it comes to the Dictator novel, one has to start with Latin America. The "father of the dictator novel" is attributed to be the Argentine Domingo Sarmiento:

“In 1845 he [Domingo Sarmiento] wrote Facundo, not a novel, in fact, but a novelistic portrait of a local strongman, and an excoriating indictment of the brutal regime of President Juan Manuel de Rosas during which thousands died. Facundo had an urgent purpose: to argue for a more enlightened, (preferably European) style of government. Argentines must choose civilisation over barbarism, said Sarmiento, who became president himself in 1868.” — Miranda France

Even the wikipedia entry for “Dictator Novel” calls this a genre of Latin American literature. In terms of origins that is true but over the last decade, many examples of African and Asian literature have emerged with regards to this genre. Of course, outside of fiction, Latin America and Africa have given us plenty of real-life dictators but in recent years, Asia, Europe and recently the United States have put up their contenders.

The following is a listing of of fictional and non-fictional books about dictators and strongmen by regions/continents. Grouping by region also allows inclusion of books by European/North American authors who have set their books in Latin America.

Latin America 

The presence of real-life dictators certainly helped fuel the Dictator Novel genre in Latin America but it was also an initial literary idea that Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa discussed about. As per Miranda France’s article:

It was apparently on a pub crawl through 1960s London that Carlos Fuentes proposed to Mario Vargas Llosa that they collaborate on a book of dictators. They and fellow “Boomers” would take a chapter each to write about their favourite despots. Julio Cortázar, for example, would profile Evita.

That book never materialised, but more novels did. The year 1974 saw “dictator novels” from Alejandro Carpentier, Augusto Roa Bastos and García Márquez himself. Later offerings came from Luisa Valenzuela and Tomás Eloy Martínez.

After those initial offerings, many others were published including one by Llosa as well.

Books arranged as per published dates:

1. Facundo, Domingo Sarmiento (1845, Argentina)

It starts here.

2. Nostromo by Joseph Conrad (1904) 

This is set in the fictional South American country of “Costaguana” but clearly influenced by happenings in other Latin nations. The inclusion of this book is due to the theme but it is hard to determine whether this book influenced other writings on Latin American Dictator Novels or not.

3. La sombra del caudillo (The Shadow of the Strongman) by Martín Luis Guzmán (1929, Mexico) 

This book, about the post-1910 Mexican revolution, clearly set the ball rolling for the Dictator Novel genre.

4. Tyrant Banderas by Ramon del Valle-Inclán (1929) 

A huge influence on the portrayal of Latin American dictators but the book didn’t start out as depiction of Latin America. As per Alberto Manguel’s introduction in the NYRB Classics English translation of this book:

After suffering censorship under the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, who ruled Spain from 1923 to 1930 (Valle-Inclán was briefly imprisoned for this anti-Rivera opinions), he decided to transfer his depiction of Rivera’s tyranny to the wilder Mexican landscapes he had known, in part to use elements of the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz in Mexico, in part to feel free from documentary constraints when speaking about his homeland. Not only Prime de Rivera and Porfirio Díaz served to create the character of Santos Banderas. In a letter to the scholar Alfonso Reyes, Valle-Inclán explained that it was “a novel about a tyrant with traits borrowed from Dr. Francia, Rosas, Melgarejo, López, Porfirio,” all Latin American dictators.

5. The Green Child by Herbert Read (1935) 

This is one work that stands out from all the other books in the list because it is more than just about a dictator. The book is a fascinating blend of sci-fi, fantasy but the middle section of the book is about an accidental dictator. The description shows what a perfect good hearted dictator would look like or if someone became a dictator by accident. The final segment is best read without knowing any description because one can see the influence of this section on many films over the last few decades.

6. El Señor Presidente (The President) by Miguel Ángel Asturias (1946, Guatemala) 

Inspired by the real life 1898–1920 presidency of Manuel Estrada Cabrera, this is often cited as the second most vital novel in the genre after Martín Luis Guzmán’s entry.

7. No One writes to the Colonel by Gabriel García Márquez (1961) 

A novella instead of a novel.

8. The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes (1962) 

Not related to a specific dictator but the structure recalls other books included in this list. The story is around the memories of Artemio Cruz who recalls key events from his life. Such a technique can be seen in other books where dictators lay on their deathbed and recall their early childhood or key battles. Mahmoud Dowlatabadi’s Iranian novel The Colonel is one such example.

9. I, Supreme by Augusto Roa Bastos (1974, Paraguay) 

A hugely vital book of the genre that was inspired by the Paraguayan dictator José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia.

10. The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel García Márquez (1975) 

Not directly based on one person but a combination of various real-life dictators including Franco, Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (Colombia) and Juan Vicente Gómez (Venezuela).

11. Reasons of State by Alejo Carpentier (1975)

12. The Lizard's Tail by  Luisa Valenzuela (1983)

13. The Peron Novel by Tomas Eloy Martinez (1985)

14. The General in His Labyrinth by Gabriel García Márquez (1989) 

Fictionalized account of the last seven months of Simón Bolívar.

15. The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa (2000) 

Set in the Dominican Republic and is about the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo.

16. The Dictator And The Hammock by Daniel Pennac (2010)

Africa (arranged by published date):

1. Children of Our Alley by Naguib Mahfouz (1959, Egypt) 

The inclusion of this book is stretching the definition criteria for this list. The story doesn’t deal with an actual or fictional dictator/ruler but instead depicts traits that one finds in societies where dictators rule. The book is about strongmen who control the alley. These strongmen and their ways can instead be likened to gang leaders but their portrayal highlights larger issues of violence, tyranny and methods to repress people. Such traits are found in societies where dictators rule often by employing multiple strongmen/gangs to suppress people.

2. Kongi’s Harvest by Wole Soyinka (1965/1967) 

A hugely vital 1965 play that was later published in 1967.

3. Zayni Barakat by Gamal El-Ghitani (1974) 

Mr. Ghitani, whose work was frequently published in English translations, was most famous for his 1974 novel “Zayni Barakat,” a scorching allegorical critique of totalitarianism in which a ruthless Egyptian leader’s legitimacy is challenged. -- NYT

4. The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuściński (1978) 

Ryszard Kapuściński's book about Haile Selassie's reign in Ethiopia is non-fiction but his beautiful writing paints such a vivid picture that most fictional authors fail to achieve.

5, 6, 7. Nuruddin Farah’s ‘Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship’ trilogy, which includes the novels Sweet and Sour Milk (1980), Sardines (1981) and Close Sesame (1983). 

8. Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe (1987, Nigeria)

9. The Fall of the Imam by Nawal El-Saadawi (1987, Egypt)

10. The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden (1998) 

Giles Foden's book meshes fact with fiction in depiction of Uganda's Idi Amin and is told from the perspective of a doctor. 

11. In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in the Congo by Michela Wrong (2000) 

Like Kapuściński, Michela Wrong's writing about Africa is essential reading. Her debut book highlights Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire.

12. Wizard of the Crow by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (2004, Kenya)

Wizard of the Crow by Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is pure magic realism in depicting the myth around an African ruler's hold on power. The book is set in a fictional country of Free Republic of Abruria but it incorporates elements that could apply to many African countries.

13. The Dictator's Last Night by Yasmina Khadra (2015) 

Focuses on Gaddafi at the height of the Libyan Civil War in 2011.

14. Taduno’s Song by Odafe Atogun (2016) 

A mythical tale not directly about a dictator but what happens in a society that is oppressed and how people forget things like music or a famous musician.

Asia (arranged as per published dates):

1. Shah of Shahs by Ryszard Kapuściński (1982) 

Forms a nice pairing with Kapuściński’s The Emperor.

2. The Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif (2008)

3. The Colonel by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi (2009) 

The Colonel, by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, is a masterpiece. But reader beware, it is a dark one and doesn't offer even a tiny droplet of hope. From its very beginning to its very end, it rains incessantly. Blood is spilled, children are buried in the darkness of the night, people betray themselves and one another, ghosts roam. — Marina Nemat, The Globe and Mail

The book is told in flashbacks via the Colonel's disintegrating memory. At first, it isn't the darkness of the material that makes it difficult to read but the structure which blends past with present or reality with hazy memories. The flashbacks of the dictator recall Carlos Fuentes’ The Death of Artemio Cruz but Dowlatabadi’s material is far darker and that is understandable given the story’s setting in a regime where one is encouraged to betray one’s family.

4. The Bleeds by Dimitri Nasrallah (2018) 

The book deals with a fictional family of rulers but one can see shades of many real-life Middle Eastern dictators present in the book.

Other non-fiction books about dictators

I found all of these books insightful although in some cases, things have gotten much worse than what is outlined in the books.

i. How to Feed a Dictator by Witold Szablowski 

Szablowski covers a topic that no other writer/journalist has ever done. He tracks down the cooks that fed Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Enver Hoxha, Fidel Castro and Pol Pot. As a result, the book gives some fascinating insight into the cultures, food (including actual recipes) and societies of the five nations where these dictators ruled.

ii. A Kim Jong-Il Production by Paul Fischer 

A perfect example of a book where the “truth is stranger than fiction.” The book must be read to be believed and contains the most cinematic references than any other book on a dictator that I have ever read.

iii. The Dictator's Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

iv. Strongmen: Trump, Modi, Erdoğan, Putin, Duterte
Edited by Vijay Prashad

v. The End of Europe by James Kirchick

vi. A Question of Order by Basharat Peer

The New York Times Book of Movies

The New York Times Book of Movies: The Essential 1,000 Films to See
selected by Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott, Edited by Wallace Schroeder

I am usually wary of “essential films” or “best movies of all time” lists because they are mostly stacked with Hollywood movies and ignore world cinema. However, I had some hopes with the 2019 edition of the NY Times Book of Movies because Manohla Dargis and A.O Scott had selected the list and figured that more world cinema would be included. It is clear from the selections that the two have injected some recent world cinema films but despite these inclusions, the overall global cinema tally still falls short of a proper list. Of course, the two make it clear in the introduction of the book’s purpose:

“But given the sheer plenitude and the limits of one volume, The New York Times Book of Movies: The Essential 1,000 Films to See” is a suggested starting point rather than a comprehensive list. It is also an unapologetically subjective collection. Even the most casual movie fan will quickly notice missing favorites and puzzling inclusions. This is to be expected in an anthology that covers so much history. But the point of a book like this one is to encourage conversations and maybe even provoke debates, rather than to establish an indisputable canon.”

The two of them make it clear that this is a “subjective collection” as one can expect from such lists. Even those who certify to establish a canon of the best movies ever made are governed by subjective tastes no matter how much they argue that their list is objective in nature.

Of the 1000 film reviews included in the book, 678 (67.8%) of the selections are American movies with the rest of the world accounting for 322 films (32.2)%. Out of the world titles, this book predictably follows the trend of including mostly Western European films with 98 French titles (including some co-productions), 52 from Britain, 37 Italian films and 18 German films. Japan is the only non-European country to have titles in double digits with 18 entries. Argentina, Canada, Chile, Portugal and South Korea manage only one entry. All of South America has just 4 films in total, the same as all of Africa. India and Iran only manage 4 titles each. 

Although, I am certain in future editions, South Korea’s count would increase to include Parasite (2019).

Top 10 Country films:

USA: 678 films
France: 98
Britain: 52
Italy: 37
Germany: 18
Japan: 18
Sweden: 13
Mexico: 7
Spain: 7
Taiwan: 7

Note: In the book, Edward Yang’s Yi Yi was marked under China but I have moved that under Taiwan.

Here are some breakdowns from regional perspective:

North America (USA, Canada, Mexico, Cuba): 688 films, 68.8%
Europe: 250 films, 25%
Asia: 50 films, 5%
Africa: 4 films, 0.4%
Oceania (Australia + New Zealand): 4 films, 0.4%
South America: 4 films, 0.4%

Total of North America + Europe: 938 films or 93.8%

That means the rest of the world including South America, Africa, Asia and Oceania only account for 62 films or 6.2% of the total films.
 
In one way, the world film selections do follow a predictable distribution/theatrical release problem.  Even though hundreds of films are made around the world and shown at international film festivals, those film reviews were not included if the films didn’t open in NY cinemas. Now, even if some of those films did open in a NY cinema, they may not have been seen by the NY Times critics. Case in point, Indian Cinema, which is a glaring omission from this book similar to contemporary North American end-of-the-year cinema lists or weekly reviews. Even though Indian films have been opening regularly in American cinemas from the late 1990s, there are zero Indian films included in this list after 1988, following the negative bias that North American critics have shown towards Indian cinema. For most North American critics, Indian cinema started and ended with Satyajit Ray. That bias is found in this book with 3 of the 4 included Indian films directed by Satyajit Ray. Other North American critics may now include Rithik Gwatak and Guru Dutt but that is apparently the extent of what Indian cinema represents in North America.

I haven’t categorized how many female directors or person of colour directors were included in this list but that is a future task. Also, from the appendix it appears that in earlier editions, the best 10 films from each year were selected and included in the book.

“It should also be noted that not every 10 best choice is included in the book’s 1,000 reviews. Some have been displaced by other titles that from a current critical vantage point seem more important.“

The change from the top list format has clearly resulted in the inclusion of some global entries.

Ultimately, what this book emphatically highlights is that we need diverse voices representing cinema not only critically but also from a historical perspective. This way, we have a chance of worthy cinema from around the world being catalogued so it isn’t forgotten. I appreciate the efforts of Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott to shift the dial slightly from previous editions of these book series to inject a few more global films but it still isn’t enough. Much work still needs to be done in future editions if this series is meant to be an accurate reflection of essential movies.

Here are the non-American titles included in the book:

Argentina (1 film):

Zama (2018)

Australia (3):

Gallipoli (1981)
Max Max: Fury Road (2015)
Sweetie (1989)

Belgium (2):

L’Enfant (2006)
Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

Brazil (2):

Black Orpheus (1959)
Pixote (1981)

Britain (52):

The Angry Silence (1960)
Barry Landon (1975)
Black Narcissus (1947)
Darling (1965)
The Dresser (1983)
The Duelists (1978)
Frenzy (1972)
Georgy Girl (1966)
The Go-Between (1971)
Hamlet (1948)
Heartland (1981)
Heat and Dust (1983)
Henry V (1946)
High Hopes (1988)
Hope and Glory (1987)
I Know Where I’m Going (1947)
If…(1969)
The Ipcress File (1965)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1950)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1945)
Life is Sweet (1991)
Local Hero (1983)
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
The Long Day Closes (1993)
Look Back in Anger (1959)
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Mona Lisa (1986)
Moonlighting (1982)
My Beautiful Laundrette (1986)
My Left Foot (1989)
Odd Man Out (1947)
Oliver Twist (1951)
Quadrophenia (1979)
The Red Shoes (1948)
Replusion (1965)
Richard III (1956)
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1961)
Secret and Lies (1996)
The Servant (1963)
The Shooting Party (1985)
The Spiral Staircase (1946)
Stairway to Heaven (1946)
The Stars Look Down (1941)
Stevie (1981)
Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971)
A Taste of Honey (1961)
The Third Man (1950)
This Sporting Life (1963)
Trainspotting (1996)
Walking and Talking (1996)
The War Game (1966)
Women in Love (1970)

Canada (1): 

Atanarjuat (2002)

Chile (1):

No (2013)

China (6):

Farewell My Concubine (1993)
Ju Dou (1990)
Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
The Story of Qui Ju (1992)
To Live (1994)
A Touch of Sin (2013)

Cuba (2):

I am Cuba (1964)
Memories of Underdevelopment (1973)

Czech Republic (3):

Daisies (1966)
Loves of a Blonde (1966)
The Shop of Main Street (1966)

Denmark (2): in the book, Babette’s Feast is incorrectly marked under France.

The Celebration (1998)
Babette’s Feast (1987)

France (98): in the book, there are 100 films for France but I have moved Babette’s Feast under Denmark and In Jackson Heights to be under USA.

A Nous, La Liberte (1932)
L’Age d’Or (1930)
Amour (2012)
L’Argent (1983)
Army of Shadows (1969)
L’Atalante (1934)
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
Au Revoir Les Enfants (1988)
The Baker’s Wife (1940)
Le Beau Mariage (1982)
Beauty and the Beast (1947)
Bed and Board (1971)
Belle de Jour (1968)
Bob le Flambeur (1955)
Le Boucher (1970)
Breathless (1961)
The Bridge Wore Black (1968)
La Ceremonie (1996)
La Chienne (1931)
Chloe in the Afternoon (1972)
Chocolat (1988)
Claire’s Knee (1971)
Cleo From 5 to 7 (1962)
The Clockmaker (1973)
Contempt (1964)
The Cousins (1959)
Danton (1983)
Day for Night (1973)
Diabolique (1955)
The Diary of a Country Priest (1950)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
Diva (1982)
The Dreamlife of Angels (1998)
The Earrings of Madame De (1954)
L’enfance Nue (1968)
Les Enfants du Paradis (1945)
Entre Nous (1983)
Every Man for Himself (1980)
Faces Places (2017)
La Femme Infidele (1969)
Forbidden Games (1952)
The 400 Blows (1959)
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978)
The Gleaners and I (2001)
Grand Ilusion (1938)
A Grin Without a Cat (1977)
Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1960)
Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (1988)
I’m Going Home (2001)
Le Jolie Mai (1966)
The Judge and the Assassin (1982)
Jules and Jim (1962)
Lacombe, Lucien (1974)
The Last Metro (1980)
Last Tango in Paris (1973)
Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1961)
Lola Montes (1968)
Love on the Run (1979)
The Lovers (1959)
The Main Who Loved Women (1977)
Mayerling (1937)
Menage (1986)
Mon Oncle d’Amerique (1980)
Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (1954)
Murmur of the Heart (1971)
My Night at Maud’s (1969)
My Uncle (1958)
La Nuit de Varennes (1983)
Orpheus (1950)
Out 1 (1970)
Playtime (1967)
Red (1994)
The Return of Martin Guerre (1983)
Rififi (1956)
‘Round Midnight (1986)
The Rules of the Game (1950)
Shoah (1985)
Shoot the Piano Player (1962)
The Silent World (1956)
Stolen Kisses (1969)
The Story of Adele H (1975)
Story of Women (1989)
Summer (1986)
Summer Hours (2008)
That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
This Man Must Die (1970)
Topkapi (1964)
Two English Girls (1972)
The Two of Us (1968)
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Violette (1978)
The Wages of Fear (1955
Weekend (1968)
The Well-digger’s Daughter (1946)
White Material (2010)
The Wild Child (1970)
Wild Reeds (1994)
Z (1969)

Finland (1):

The Match Factory Girl (1990)

Germany (18):

Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972)
The American Friend (1977)
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1983)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1921)
Effi Briest (1977)
Europa, Europa (1991)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
The Goalie’s Anxiety a the Penalty Kick (1977)
Heimat (1985)
Lola (1982)
M (1931)
The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
Metropolis (1927)
Stroszek (1977)
The Third Generation (1979)
The Tin Drum (1980)
Toni Erdmann (2016)
The Wings of Desire (1988)

Greece (1):

Never on Sunday (1960)

Hong Kong (6):

Boat People (1983)
Election (2007)
In the Mood for Love (2000)
Infernal Affairs (2003)
The Killer (1991)
2046 (2005)

Hungary (3):

Love (1973)
My 20th Century (1990)
Satantango (1994)

India (4):

Distant Thunder (1973)
Pather Panchali (1958)
Salaam Bombay! (1988)
The World of Apu (1959)

Iran (4):

And Life Goes On (1992)
Close-Up (1990)
A Moment of Innocence (1999)
Taste of Cherry (1997)

Israel (1):

Footnote (2012)

Italy (37):

Amarcord (1974)
L’Avventura (1961)
The Battle of Algiers (1965)
The Bicycle Thief (1949)
The Big Deal on Madonna Street (1960)
The Conformist (1970)
The Damned (1969)
Dark Eyes (1987)
Death in Venice (1971)
Divorce-Italian Style (1962)
La Dolce Vita (1961)
81/2 (1963)
Fellini Satyricon (1970)
Fist in His Pocket (1968)
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1971)
General della Rovere (1960)
Germany Year Zero (1949)
Gomorrah (2009)
Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
Lamerica (1994)
The Leopard (1963)
Mamma Roma (1962)
Marriage-Italian Style (1964)
1900 (1977)
Open City (1946)
Ossessione (1942)
Paisan (1948)
Rocco and His Brothers (1960)
Seven Beauties (1976)
Shoeshine (1947)
La Strada (1956)
Swept Away (By and unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August ) (1975)
La Terra Trema (1947)
The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1979)
Two Women (1961)
Umberto D. (1955)
Voyage to Italy (1955)

Japan (18):

The Family Game (1984)
Gate of Hell (1954)
A Geisha (1978)
High and Low (1963)
Ikiru (1952)
Kagemusha (1980)
Pigs and Battleships (1961)
Ran (1985)
Rashomon (1951)
Sanjuro (1963)
Sansho the Bailiff (1969)
The Seven Samurai (1956)
Spirited Away (2002)
Throne of Blood (1961)
Tokyo Story (1952)
Ugetsu (1954)
Woman in the Dunes (1964)
Yojimbo (1962)

Mauritania (1):

Timbuktu (2015)

Mexico (7):

Amores Perros (2000)
The Exterminating Angel (1967)
Like Water for Chocolate (1992)
Los Olvidados (1950)
Roma (2018)
Viridiana (1962)
Y Tu Mama Tambien (2002)

New Zealand (1):

Smash Palace (1982)

Philippines (2): 

Manila in the Claws of Light (1975)
Norte, the End of History (2014)

Poland (3):

Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
The Decalogue (2000)
Knife in the Water (1963)

Portugal (1):

Mysteries of Lisbon (2011)

Romania (2):

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005)
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2008)

Russia (6):

Alexander Nevsky (1939)
Andrei Rublev (1973)
Battleship Potemkin (1926)
The Cranes Are Flying (1960)
Little Vera (1988)
Russian Ark (2002)

Senegal (3):

Black Girl (1966)
Guelwaar (1993)
Touki-Bouki (1973)

South Korea (1):

Poetry (2011)

Spain (7):

All About My Mother (1999)
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
Talk to Her (2002)
Tristana (1970)
Volver (2006)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)

Sweden (13):

Cries and Whispers (1972)
Face to Face (1976)
Fanny and Alexander (1983)
The Magic Flute (1975)
Monika (1952)
My Life as a Dog (1987)
The Passion of Anna (1970)
Persona (1967)
Scenes from a Marriage (1974)
The Seventh Seal (1958)
The Silence (1964)
Smiles of a Summer Night (1956)
Wild Strawberries (1959)

Switzerland (1):

The Sorrow and the Pity (1971)

Taiwan (7): in the book, Yi Yi is marked under China

A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
The Puppermaster (1993)
The River (1993)
Three Times (2006)
Vive L’Amour (1995)
Yi Yi: A One and a Two (2000)

Thailand (1):

Uncle Boonmee who can Recall his past lives (2011)

In memory of Milorad Pavić

A long time ago, in a world before smartphones and social media, I was wandering through a bookstore when I came across an intriguing book “Dictionary of the Khazars” by Milorad Pavić. A gush of excitement at the discovery because he wrote two versions of the book, a male and female version, both identical with the exception of a single paragraph. I bought both versions and was delighted to have found the single different paragraph. I only bought one more book by Pavić but never came across any of his other books.

Today, out of the blue, I came across his book lying in the corner. I then decided to look-up if he wrote any other books or if he was still writing. Sadly, I found out that he passed away ten years ago in 2009. That explains why I never came across any new books. He did write many other books and I will have to find those other books, a task much easier nowadays than it was decades ago. I also have to re-read the Dictionary because I have forgotten many of the details. What I haven’t forgotten is the sheer sense of dizzying delight that followed when I read his book. It was a similar feeling when reading books by Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino or Haruki Murakami.

Here’s to you Mr. Pavić, thank you for making the world a better place with your words.

Past, present and future

A trio of books that outline the past, present and possible future. Two fiction, one non-fiction. Perhaps, in the future, all will be considered non-fiction with the exception that the dates were incorrect in two of the books.

1. The Plot Against America (2004 book) by Philip Roth

It imagines an alternate history when FDR loses to Charles Lindbergh in the 1940 elections. Lindbergh is a good friend of Hitler and decides to keep America out of WWII, letting Germany and Japan take over the world. Right-wing and fascist sentiments increase in America because the president helps spread hatred in the county. There is even one incident which shows how American Nazis work with KKK to carry out an assassination.

Over the last decade, I picked this book up several times but never read it. I wish I had read it a decade ago because it is a completely different experience reading it now. Many aspects are chilling and accurate given what has happened in the last year.

2. American War (2017) by Omar El Akkad

Set decades into the future, where an American civil war between 2074-2095 separates the country. The southern states which insist on using old fashioned fossil fuels break off from the rest of the nation causing many Americans to live in refugees camps between newly formed borders between states.

The book leans heavily on the melodramatic side with images conjured out of post-apocalyptic worlds shown in "The Walking Dead" and other works such Cormac McCarthy's "The Road. Still, since Omar is a journalist by trade, there are some astute observances that are going to be viewed in a new light given recent events. The division he talks about is already there without the physical border separation.

3. The Age of Anger (2017) by Pankaj Mishra

Incredible in scope, Mishra outlines how recent right-wing ideas have roots that go back centuries. He focuses more on ancient European society but also looks Asia and America.

Euro 2016 Spotlight

When the Euro 2016 Book + Film Spotlight kicked off in Dec 2015, the goal was to finish watching all the 11 films and finish reading all 15 books by June 1, 2016. As things stand, there are still 2 films left to view but all 15 books have been read, 2 months ahead of schedule.

This is a rare thing where all the books for a spotlight have been read this far ahead of the end date. But unlike the past, this time around I planned a schedule for the book reading and tried to follow it strictly. Since there were some heavyweight book titles, my goal was to leave these 4 books last as I felt these were the ones that required ample time to finish:

Hungary: Sátántangó (László Krasznahorkai, 272 pages)

France: Life A User’s Manual (Georges Perec, 500 pages)

Austria: The Man Without Qualities (Robert Musil, 1130 pages)

Ireland: Ulysses (James Joyce, 704 pages)

It proved to the right call as reading these 4 books took up the most collective time.

To recap, all the 15 books as per country:

Albania: The General of the Dead Army (Ismail Kadare)

Austria: The Man Without Qualities (Robert Musil)

Czech Republic: The Other City (Michal Ajvaz)

France: Life A User’s Manual (Georges Perec), The Prone Gunman (Jean-Patrick Manchette)

Hungary: Sátántangó (László Krasznahorkai)

Iceland: The Blue Fox (Sjón)

Ireland: Ulysses (James Joyce)

Northern Ireland: The International (Glenn Patterson)

Poland: The Elephant (Slawomir Mrozek)

Portugal: The Book of Disquiet (Fernando Pessoa)

Spain: Mazurka for Two Dead Men (Camilo José Cela)

Switzerland: The End of All Men (C.F. Ramuz)

Turkey: The Black Book (Orhan Pamuk)

Wales: A Book of Wales, an Anthology (selected by Meic Stephens)

Top 5 books

It proved to be a rewarding experience to read all 15 books and I truly cherished these titles. The only disappointment ended up being Pamuk's The Black Book and that is likely because I read this book after having read a few of his other titles.

For now, here are my top 5 books, without any comments. Notes and thoughts on the books will be included once the film viewing is complete.

1. Sátántangó (Hungary, László Krasznahorkai)

2. The General of the Dead Army (Albania, Ismail Kadare)

3. The Book of Disquiet (Portugal, Fernando Pessoa)

4. The Man Without Qualities (Austria, Robert Musil)

5. Life A User’s Manual (France, Georges Perec)

Honorable mention: The Other City (Czech Republic, Michal Ajvaz)

Euro 2016

The tradition continues of having a book + film spotlight for a major soccer tournament. The expansion of the European Championship to 24 teams certainly posed a challenge regarding the selection process for this spotlight. Having to watch 24 films for each of the 24 countries in 6 months would have been an easy proposition but having to read 24 books in 6 months would have been a stretch. Therefore, the total number of book and film selections is divided, although not in an even manner. 23 nations have either one film or book in the spotlight. That means if a nation has a film in the spotlight, there is no book representing it. The same is true for books as well which means if a country has a book in the spotlight, then that country will have no film selected. The only exception is France, the Euro 2016 hosts. France gets two books and one film in the spotlight.

There are a total of 11 films and 15 books selected with the requirement to have more books than films in the spotlight. The film selections are contemporary with only 2014-2015 titles. However, for the books, the goal was to have a match-up between some heavyweights. As a result, many well known older titles are selected. On the other hand, there are some titles from newer worthy authors thrown into the mix.

All of the films have to be viewed and all the books read by June 1, 2016.

Films:

France: Dheepan (2015, Jacques Audiard)

Belgium: The Brand New Testament (2015, Jaco Van Dormael)

Croatia: The High Sun (2015, Dalibor Matanic)

England: 45 Years (2015, Andrew Haigh)

Germany: Phoenix (2014, Christian Petzold)

Italy: Lost and Beautiful (2015, Pietro Marcello)

Romania: Aferim! (2015, Radu Jude)

Russia: The Fool (2014, Yuriy Bykov)

Slovakia: Koza (2015, Ivan Ostrochovský)

Sweden: A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014, Roy Andersson)

Ukraine: Maidan (2014, Sergey Loznitsa)

Note: If Loznitsa’s The Event (2015) is available, it will be selected over his 2014 film Maidan.

Books:

France: Life A User’s Manual (Georges Perec), The Prone Gunman (Jean-Patrick Manchette)

Albania: The General of the Dead Army (Ismail Kadare)

Austria: The Man Without Qualities (Robert Musil)

Czech Republic: The Other City (Michal Ajvaz)

Hungary: Sátántangó (László Krasznahorkai)

Iceland: The Blue Fox (Sjón)

Ireland: Ulysses (James Joyce)

Northern Ireland: The International (Glenn Patterson)

Poland: The Elephant (Slawomir Mrozek)

Portugal: The Book of Disquiet (Fernando Pessoa)

Spain: Mazurka for Two Dead Men (Camilo José Cela)

Switzerland: The End of All Men (C.F. Ramuz)

Turkey: The Black Book (Orhan Pamuk)

Wales: A Book of Wales, an Anthology (selected by Meic Stephens)

The Dictator Novel

The recent death of Gabriel García Márquez is a huge loss to the literary world, especially Magic Realism. I owe my knowledge about this style to Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude which led me down a path of Magic Realism and the discovery of many other global authors. Even though Márquez is associated with Magic Realism, he was also a big part of the Dictator Novel. I first learned about the Dictator Novel genre when I read Augusto Roa Bastos' I Supreme as part of the 2011 Copa America Spotlight a few years back. Many references to Márquez's The General in His Labyrinth and The Autumn of the Patriarch appeared when discussing the roots of this genre in Central and South American literature. It is these two books that have been foremost in my mind since I heard of Márquez's passing.

The Dictator Novel is associated with Latin America given the number of dictatorships and generals that took power from the 1960's-70's but the genre can also apply to works about Africa. There are certainly similarities between Latin America and Africa in how some dictators rose to power and the ruthless methods they used to maintain their position. Yet, most of the official talk about this genre does not feature African literature or books about Africa.

Here are a few examples of books that highlight abuse of power in Africa and can be branched under The Dictator Novel, even though two of them are non-fiction.

1. Wizard of the Crow by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o;

Wizard of the Crow by Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is pure magic realism in depicting the myth around an African ruler's hold on power. The book is set in a fictional country of Free Republic of Abruria but it incorporates elements that could apply to many African countries.

2. The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden

Giles Foden's book meshes fact with fiction in depiction of Uganda's Idi Amin and is told from the perspective of a doctor.

3. The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuściński 

Ryszard Kapuściński's book about Haile Selassie's reign in Ethiopia is non-fiction but his beautiful writing paints such a vivid picture that most fiction authors fail to achieve.

4. In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in the Congo by Michela Wrong 

Like Kapuściński, Michela Wrong's writing about Africa is essential reading. Her debut book highlights Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire.

Driven

Driven written by James Sallis, published by Poisoned Pen Press.

Driven, the sequel to James Sallis' noir fiction Drive, catches up with Driver seven years after he left Bernie Rose for dead. Even though a lot of time has passed in between the two book's timelines, the opening words of Driven are directly related to events in Drive.

They came for him just after 11:00 on a Saturday morning, two of them. It was hot going hotter; sunlight caught in the fine sheen of sweat on Elsa's forehead. A hint of movement in the side of his eye as they passed a short side street -- and the first one was there. He spun, slamming his foot and the whole of his body weight against the outside of the man's right knee, and heard it give. By the time the man was down, that same foot hit his throat. ...

The two men have come for Driver because of what he did seven years ago. Driver thought he had escaped his past but unfortunately for him, and his fiancee, his past manages to crash his new life and identity. Driver now goes by the name of Paul West but despite a new name, some things have not changed in his life, such as his love for Mexican food and eating at reasonably priced restaurants. Many of Driver's conversations take place in such restaurants or diners serving thick black coffee and a good old fashioned piece of pie. The violence is also present in ample doses because Driver has to protect himself and seek revenge. His love of cars wins new admirers and opens new doors for him as he seeks to outrun his past.

Driven is a brisk read at 147 pages and even though it leaves one wanting more when it ends, the book is a tad disappointing and not a stellar work like Drive. A lot of the weaker moments in Driven are related to conversations of free will, purpose in life or attempts to examine Driver’s "sense of belonging". For example, the following words on page 18 take place before it is revealed that Driver met Elsa at the mall.

Back early on, back before the house, before the job, before Paul west, he had a fascination for malls. In ways he never understood, they drew him. Bright colors, lush displays in windows, the sense and sound of all those bodies moving separately and together, music, the cries of children, friendly banter. Malls were a country in miniature. He visited them, stepped into them, as though just off the ship. As though if only he sat in them long enough, put in enough miles along those arcades and scuffed floors, ate enough food court specials, something – some understanding, some sense of belonging – might solidify around him.

Such words give the impression that the book is just idling, buying some time with empty words, before the relevant material kicks in. This is because Drive was perfect in outlining the character and persona of Driver so the added descriptions in Driven are not required and come off as mere padding. Thankfully, these idle moments are few given the short length of the book and it is not too long before the juicy material of cars and thugs kicks in. The filthy characters and their shady backgrounds are the true meat of both books and any attempt to examine questions of self and the universe appear forced within the book’s framework. Perhaps, a future book might put things right as Driven feels like unfinished business especially because the ending is a wide open road that could lead to new adventures. And if there is another book in the series, it will likely be called Drove.

Zombies/The Walking Dead

Mention a zombie movie and images of flesh-eaters comes to mind, dead creatures who prey on humans. However, this image has drifted far from the original definition of a zombie which was about dead persons brought back to life through witchcraft. As a result, a zombie was only meant to be an empty shell whose actions were controlled by the person who resurrected them. The initial films which depicted zombies stayed true to this definition such as Victor Halperin’s White Zombie (1932) and Revolt of the Zombies (1936). In White Zombie, Bela Lugosi’s character uses magic to revive the dead who then work as per his bidding. The film is appropriately set in Haiti where the origins of the word "zombie" came from. Even Jacques Tourneu’s classic film I Walked with a Zombie (1943) was grounded in the true zombie definition of witchcraft, magic and trance. All this changed in 1968 with George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, which is the first film that depicted zombies as flesh-eaters although the film never used the word zombie. As per an interview, Romero only applied the word zombies in subsequent films after fans used it. Still, Night of the Living Dead has served as a template for contemporary zombie works, which includes movies and graphic novels such as The Walking Dead (now a TV show as well). Basically, Romero’s film is the starting point for the contemporary zombie representation and everything before his film is forgotten so to speak, including witchcraft, trance and the Haitian definition.

Night of the Living Dead quickly begins with a zombie attack on a brother (Johnny) & sister (Barbara). Barbara escapes to a house where she finds other humans who are hiding from the flesh-eaters. No explanation is given as to why these creatures are eating human flesh and the only information Barbara and other house residents get is via radio and tv. The radio & tv broadcasts repeat around the clock, giving updates such as which safe houses people can get to. Meanwhile, humans have figured out that shooting the creatures in the head eliminates them, so that results in groups who gather weapons and go zombie hunting. The film does not feature much gore but one prominent scene near the end has been endlessly featured in subsequent zombie movies. Near the finale of Night of the Living Dead, an infected young girl is shown to be eating her father. As a visitor enters the room, the young girl leaves her father and slowly walks towards the visitor as the camera focusses on the young girl who has blood and flesh visible near her mouth. Unlike modern zombie movies, Romero’s film is not only about gore and violence but instead is a well crafted film that uses smart camera angles and music to heighten suspense and tension. Romero also incorporated a social commentary not only in Night of the Living Dead but also in Dawn of the Dead. The main hero in Night of the Living Dead is an African American (Ben played by Duane Jones) which is important because the film was released in 1968, at a time when Civil Rights issues was forefront in America. Ben treats everyone around him equally but he is accidentally killed by a mob who mistake him to be a zombie. The film ends with photos of Ben’s body prepared to be hung like an animal, images which are a reminder of mob lynchings and killings. In fact, those photos could easily be taken from newspaper clippings of racist crimes prior to 1968 and they manage to shatter the flesh-eating scripted framework of the film. In Dawn of the Dead, much of the zombie fighting takes place inside a mall, which contains slow moving creatures moving through the halls and up the escalators. Such images bring to mind modern consumerist habits when malls are packed with people shopping. In fact, a packed North American mall during Christmas time would be in line with what Romero intended with Dawn of the Dead.

Even though Night of the Living Dead deviated from a traditional zombie definition by making the walking dead prey on human flesh, Romero’s film atleast ensured the zombies moved slowly as per the original depiction of possessed creatures. However, in contemporary horror films, zombies are fast moving creatures that have vampire like thirst for human flesh. In the same wired interview, Romero also talks about this increased pace:

Romero also thinks videogames re-invented the zombie, turning the undead from slow, shambling horrors to speedy creatures more appropriated for action-oriented games. “In videogames they have to move fast,” he says. “They need to come at you quicker and quicker until you can’t do it anymore.”

Now those zippy zombies have transferred to film.

“Zack Snyder, in the remake of Dawn [of the Dead], has them running, and he under-cranked it so it made them seem even faster, which never made any sense to me,” Romero says. “I think subsequent people caught on and said, ‘Wait a minute, if they’re dead they can’t do these superhuman things, so we won’t make them dead! We’ll make them have caught a virus or something. Or they’ve got the Rage bug, and all of the sudden they’re these superhuman things.’ I don’t like that — to me it fights tradition.”

Shock and gore

Even though Night of the Living Dead didn’t fixate on gore, post-1970 zombie movies only seem concerned with the feeding and killing actions of the zombies. Lucio Fulci’s Zombie falls in this category and is more interested in depicting shocking scenes. The scene of a piece of wood piercing an eye is certainly cringing but equally effective are shots of zombies descending on New York, a dead creature chillingly rising from the ground and a zombie fighting a shark under the ocean. This last scene of the zombie being underwater is certainly an influence in last year’s Juan of the Dead. Overall, Fulci’s film is an example of a work interested in using zombies as a framework to depict as much blood as possible. It also provides an example of the low-budget zombie flicks that are commonplace today.

Zombies in war

Victor Halperin’s 1936 film Revolt of the Zombies is the first film that showed zombies used as soldiers. The opposing forces’ bullets have no effect on the zombies thereby making the undead the perfect weapons. This premise has certainly remained underutilized in horror culture although Red 5 Comics came up with the comic series ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction which uses this idea in a clever way:

With the financial, human and political costs of combat in the Middle East growing, the United States military has adopted an unusual, but highly effective, new weapon… zombies.

The opening pages of the comic shows zombies dropped like bombs in the desert after which the undead rise and go about fighting the war.

The virus, plague and survival

Most zombie works depict the flesh-eating aspect as a virus which spreads when an undead bites a human. Movies based on this idea often begin during the time of the virus when humans have to scramble for survival against the undead, thereby giving a feel of an apocalypse. However, very few works explore the origin of the virus or how it effects the human body. In this regard, the Season One finale of The Walking Dead is worth watching. In this episode, an animated computer recording shows the buzzing neurons in an alive human brain prior to infection. After infection, all the neurons go dead and the brain becomes dark. As per the episode, some infected subjects came alive as early as three minutes after death while the longest awakening took place after 8 hours. However, when the undead awaken, only a tiny portion of their brain is active. This tiny portion is not related to the self or memories of the original person. Instead, the only activated brain components are related to some basic bodily activities which can be inferred to mean feeding and rudimentary motor functions. This depiction nicely explains the primal hunting instinct of the zombies while their lack of speech or visible signs of intelligence.

Max Brooks’ novel World War Z looks back on the human vs zombies war and is therefore a post-apocalyptic work. The novel collects individual stories of survival from different parts of the world and outlines how humans found a way to defeat the undead. The book includes aspects of the infection while also featuring heroes who fought the zombies and the villains who tried to profit from the situation. In this regard, the book is a template for Contagion which also features heroes who try to save lives while others who seek to profit from death.

Comedy and some Politics

One of the variations of the zombie movie have been comedies such as Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, Fido, Cemetery Man and the recent Juan of the Dead. These films have not restricted themselves to just blood and violence but have incorporated some social commentary about zombies. Alejandro Brugués’ Cuban film Juan of the Dead also smartly manages to include a political layer on top of the gore and comedy. The film references the Cuban revolution while radio & news bulletins describe the zombie crisis as an American disease. Also, the political humor is not lost when hundreds of cubans flock to the sea in whatever floating device they can find to escape the zombies.

The graphic novel Zombie Tales is an excellent example of the diverse treatments involving the walking dead. There are some stories focused on the disease and the survival elements but there are also a few suprizes such as Mark Waid’s “If You’re So Smart” where a girl figures out that scoring the highest marks in her school quiz is not good for one’s life. Her theory is that since zombies are not very intelligent “because they’re missing certain brain chemicals”, the smartest students in the class are likely to be fed to the zombies by the government as an experiment. John Rogers’ story “Four Out of Five” puts forward a new cure for the disease. The main character describes how zombies rose up once every one hundred years throughout human history. However, in the past the plague never survived because humans used to have “poor oral hygiene” which ensured that the undead’s teeth fell off so they could not bite humans. The character then figures this automatic cure went away after humans starting putting “fluoride in the water” thereby resulting in generations of humans with good teeth. So his cure is to get rid of zombie’s teeth so that the disease cannot spread. The story smartly ends with the character introducing himself and why he is a threat to the zombies:

“My name is Eugene Benjamin Markowitz. And I am a mother$#@$ing dentist.”

The anthology ends on a chilling note with a story that does not feature any zombies at all. Jim Pascoe’s “A Game Called Zombie” is about how a father used to play a harmless tag game with his son where they pretended that zombies were after them. Unfortunately, the son cannot snap out of the game and starts believing he is seeing zombies in real life. The story has deeper implications about the power of influence and the trance like situation it can sometimes cause. In this regard, the story is the only one in the collection which can trace its origin back to the original zombie definition.

---

The following are the different works seen or read as part of this spotlight.

Films

White Zombie (1932, Victor Halperin)
Revolt of the Zombies (1936, Victor Halperin)
Night of the Living Dead (1968, George A. Romero)
Dawn of the Dead (1978, George A. Romero)
Zombie (1979, Lucio Fulci)
Cemetery Man (1994, Michele Soavi)

TV show: The Walking Dead, Season 1

Books: World War Z by Max Brooks.

Graphic Novels

The Walking Dead, volumes 1 & 2, by Robert Kirkman.
Zombie Tales, Vol. 1, an anthology.

Euro 2012: Books & Game 2 results

Entry #17 of the Euro 2012 Book & Film Spotlight briefly recaps the 16 books used for the second group games. The results are listed at the bottom of the entries which are arranged as per the soccer match-ups.



Group A

Poland: House of Day, House of Night, Olga Tokarczuk

As per the translator’s note at the start of book:

"The book is set in south-west Poland, in the region known as Silesia. This was part of the German Reich until 1945, when at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences the Allies agreed to move the borders of Poland westwards. Many Polish citizens were transported from the land lost to the east (annexed by the USSR) and resettled in formerly German territory to the west, where they were given the homes and property of evacuated Germans.

Readers are advised that some of the recipes in this book should carry the health warning, ‘Don’t try this at home!’ "

In this regard, House of Day, House of Night provides a look at a region of Poland whose history is not as well known. The book is nicely broken into smaller sections with titles such as “The Comet”, “The Fire”, “Franz Frost”, “The forest that comes crashing down”, etc which keeps the overall story engaging. Some of these sections contain some fascinating observations about humans in general thereby giving the book a nice universal feel to it as well.

Russia: A Hero of our Time, Mikhail Lermontov

Mikhail Lermontov’s remarkable book contains a story-within-story and multiple narrators and viewpoints. The 5 stories, packaged in 3 different parts, are not presented in order thereby requiring readers to put things together themselves. Of course, a reader does not have to put things together and can simply enjoy getting drawn into the richly depicted Caucasus complete with memorable characters.

Czech Republic: The Joke, Milan Kundera

"Optimism is the opium of the people! A healthy atmosphere stinks of stupidity! Long Live Trotsky!"

These hastily written words on a postcard throw Ludvik’s life in an unexpected direction. In this regard, Kundera’s book is even more relevant today because nowadays a single tweet can easily land someone in trouble and alter their fate. As it turns out, Ludvik’s joke totals 98 characters and would easily fit in a tweet.

Greece: Z, Vassilis Vassilikos

A brilliant novel that pieces together how a political murder was planned and executed. The book also shows that even if a crime is clear-cut, getting justice for it can be elusive because the men who are in charge of giving out orders often hide in shadows. Yet, these men are never short of people who are willing to carry out their doing. The people at the lowest rung of the hierarchy carry out murders because of money but as one goes up the ladder, a crime is not about money but power and ideologies.

Group B

Holland: A Posthumous Confession, Marcellus Emants

My wife is dead and buried.
I am alone at home, along with the two maids.
So I am free again. Yet what good is it to me, this freedom?
I am within reach of what I have wanted for the last twenty years (I am thirty-five), but I have not the courage to grasp it, and would anyhow no longer enjoy it very much.

And so begins Marcellus Emants’ A Posthumous Confession. If these opening words don’t get one’s attention, then the following words three paragraphs later certainly do:

Whenever I look in the mirror-still a habit of mine-I am astounded that such a pale, delicate, insignificant little man with dull gaze and weak, slack mouth (a nasty piece of work, some people would say) should have been capable of murdering his wife, a wife whom, after all, in his own way, he had loved.

In order to make the reader understand his motives, the narrator Willem Termeer steps back in time to describe the internal and external forces that altered his personality. At first, the weight of his confession hangs over every page but that weight lessens in the face of Termeer’s brutally honest and unfiltered words which sketch a vivid picture of his transformation and of those around him.

Germany: The Appointment, Herta Müller

"I’ve been summoned". Thursday, at ten sharp.
Lately I’m being summoned more and more often: ten sharp on Tuesday, ten sharp on Saturday, on Wednesday, Monday. As if years were a week, I’m amazed that winter comes so close on the heels of late summer.

The reason why the narrator, a factory seamstress, is summoned for questioning are gradually revealed but there is no end date to the summons. Like a Kafka novel, the questioning that goes with the summons repeat in an infinite loop, much like the narrator’s tram ride through Bucharest. Each day time collapses in the tram, jumping into the past and cutting to the present, thereby making the tram ride last a week or even years. Will the narrator be finally free of the questioning? We may never know but the story gives a glimpse into Romanian life under the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu with a pinch of dark humor similar to the style depicted in recent Romanian cinema.

Portugal: Knowledge of Hell, António Lobo Antunes

When thinking of Portuguese literature, Jose Saramago’s name looms large. However, going by Knowledge of Hell, then António Lobo Antunes certainly deserves to be as well known. Antunes’ training as a psychiatrist and his time spent in Angola clearly serve as fodder for some of the themes explored in the book, which oscillates between Lisbon and Angola. The book is set in a Lisbon mental institution and is told from the viewpoint of a psychiatrist, who is in a prime spot to observe the insanity and slow degradation of the human condition. The book is packed with memorable quotes and the prose paints a descriptive and sometimes disturbing picture.

I discovered that loneliness, he said aloud to himself in the empty car, en route to the mountains, is a child’s gun in a plastic bag in the hand of a frightened woman...page 68, chapter 4

The birds, transformed by darkness into monstrous insects, crept noisily in the blackness repelling and attracting one another, scraping the slate of the fields with the red-chalk drone of their antennae...page 159, chapter 7

Denmark: The History of Danish Dreams, Peter Høeg

The History of Danish Dreams covers about four centuries of two family’s fortunes in less than 400 pages. The book starts off in the year 1520 and ends in 1989 which means some chapters move at a furious pace while others take their time in properly sketching out key characters.

Group C

Spain: Quarantine, Juan Goytisolo

Ab abstract novel that explores the holding place in between death and eternity while blending reality with dreams and nightmares. As per the back cover, the book: "..spans those forty days, during which, according to Islamic tradition, the soul wanders between death and eternity still embodies in a dreamlike form."

The book was written in 1991 and also manages to work the Persian Gulf war in the mix along with Dante and Ibn Arabi.

Italy: The Porthole, Adriano Spatola

Classifying Adriano Spatola’s book is not an easy task. It integrates war, religion, politics, poetry, horror and even porn (in the manner of X-rated comics) with comfortable ease. That is why the words "neo-avant-garde" and "experimental writing" are perfect when describing Spatola’s writing. Spatola’s work tears down the walls of a conventional framework and pushes words to their limit.

Ireland: Kepler, John Banville

Kepler is the second book in Banville’s Renaissance scientists trilogy with Doctor Copernicus and The Newton Letter being the first and third books. Kepler looks at the tough ordeal that Johannes Kepler had to go through to get funding for his research and ultimately to get his books published. The initial chapters are in chronological order and depict the struggles and pressures that Kepler faced while the later chapters present letters written by Kepler. The letters are presented in descending order and have no replies associated with them. As a result, they manage to highlight Kepler’s desperation and his gradual disappearance of hope.

Croatia: The Ministry of Pain, Dubravka Ugresic

Like the Croatian film entry Buick Riviera, The Ministry of Pain shows that pain suffered in one’s native country could result in revenge in another country. The main character in the novel, Tanja, is not looking to open old wounds but she does not realize her free flowing university lectures result in a strong reaction in one particular student who decides to extract revenge.

Group D

Ukraine: The UnSimple, Taras Prokhasko

Taras Prokhasko’s The UnSimple is an fascinating novel that mixes history, folklore, fantasy and philosophy while telling the story of a young woman Anna in the town of Ialivets. The destiny of Anna and other town’s residents are looked over by the unsimple who are mysterious characters that are the heart of the book.

the unsimple are earthly gods. people, who with the help of inborn or
acquired knowledge, are able to do good or harm to others. that point is
important—inborn or acquired. they know something. at the same time this
can also be learned. acquired. in this way it’s possible to become unsimple
by learning something. part 2, page 73

Note: The Unsimple is the only electronic book used for this spotlight and is available for free online: part I and part 2.

England: GB84, David Peace

David Peace’s The Damned United and the Red Riding Quartet are better known works because of their film adaptations but GB84 deserves to be widely read as it riveting and highly relevant. The book mixes fact with fiction in looking at the coal mine strike that almost brought Britain to a halt. The story looks at a few principal characters and outlines some of secret deals that went on in between politicians and union leaders and how money changed hands.

France: The Giants, J.M.G Le Clezio

The Giants is a work that contains seeds of Alphaville, 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 but instead of a straight-forward narrative, the story deconstructs words and asks its readers to put them together again. For example, a walk across a room becomes an infinite journey that soaks up every little detail of the room while questioning the origin of the words used to describe all the room’s objects.

Sweden: The Dwarf, Par Lagerkvist

A shocking depiction of the evil that lies inside a human soul. The book is set in an unnamed Italian city and that setting combined with the political manipulation brings Niccolò Machiavelli to mind.

Favourite Books



All the books proved to be worthy selections that demanded a lot more time than expected to properly digest the material. In fact, some books required a second reading just to fully comprehend the written text. As a result, there was little time left before the June 8 cut-off date to properly write a separate post for each book. The brief notes don’t do justice to the stellar works that I was fortunate to have read.

I liked several aspects of every book and found each selection to be rewarding in different ways. So it is hard for me to pick a few favourites but these would be my top 4 roughly in order of preference:

1. Z, Vassilis Vassilikos, Greece
2. GB84, David Peace, England
3. The UnSimple, Taras Prokhasko, Ukraine
4. Knowledge of Hell, António Lobo Antunes, Portugal

Game 2: Soccer vs book results



As per the rules, the two possible scores for the book match-ups could be either 1-0 or 1-1. That is why I didn’t expect to see any overlapping scores between the soccer and book results so Croatia’s tie with Italy is a surprize. While The Porthole is far more creative than The Ministry of Pain, the Croatian entry leaves a lasting impact with its carefully etched characters and their personal stories. Hence, a 1-1 tie.

Three nations, Spain, Portugal & England, registered a win in both soccer and book games. Two of those nations, Portugal & England, were involved in the four soccer vs book match-ups that were decided by a single goal. Germany vs Holland & Czech Republic vs Greece were the other two match-ups that were won by a single goal.