The Long Night of Francisco Sanctis [Paperback]

Humberto Costantini (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Harper and Row, 1985; First Edition edition (1985)
• ASIN: B002M4FFKC
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,263,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Argentina. Dirty War.What do you do hotshot? What DO you do?, February 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Long Night of Francisco Sanctis (Plume Contemporary Fiction) (Paperback)

Extremely psycho-political. Revealing in the analysis of the modern day hell of the human consciousness in the press of political repression. Initially I found the vacillations of the title character to be tedious and mentally grinding but that is the point of the novel - our innate humanism caught in the gears of the unseen oppressor machine reducing us to a moral and physical stupor. This novel presents the sociology of the Argentinian "Dirty War" and one man's reaction to a call to conscience brilliantly. I also felt that the theme of a repression in search of victims was very powerful. Why it is out of print I don't know.

5.0 out of 5 stars This book should be back in print!, June 22, 2011

By 

loves to read (Lancaster, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Long Night of Francisco Sanctis (Plume Contemporary Fiction) (Paperback)

The Long Night of Francisco Sanctis takes place in 1977 in the midst of Argentina's "dirty war", in which thousands were kidnapped, tortured, disappeared, and murdered by the ruling military dictatorship. Sanctis is a middle-aged man who has settled comfortably into life with a wife he loves, 3 children and a steady job as an accountant. His left-leaning political activism of his late teens and early 20's have been left far behind. He empathizes with those who oppose the violent military ruling party, but that is as far as he goes, until he receives a phone call out of the blue and out of the past at 5:00 p.m on a Friday evening, which propels him into a long dark night of the soul. A terrible choice is thrust upon him, much against his will. Lives may hang in the balance.

Humberto Costantino mercilessly lays bear Sanctis' all too human flailings against this choice with studied irony, wit and detachment. The murderous junta receives the same deft touch which, rather than trivializing its horrors, paradoxically lowers our defenses so that we come face to face with the nightmare.

Costantino's ultimate compassion and exceedingly dry humor make bearable a story which otherwise would not be. We are carried along almost against our will, like Sanctis, feeling his growing anguish and dread as his defenses start to drop and he begins to really see the choice which he is facing, which, in effect, we all face.

Costantino's writing is a joy to read, with no superfluous word, thought or emotion. He has complete control of this story, and of us as well. I dare you to read this and not be challenged. This book should be back in print!