Customer Reviews

Santa Evita (Translated By Helen Lane)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Seeing that "the only thing that can be done with reality is to invent it again," Tomás Eloy Martínez brilliantly transposes Evita's postmortem journey into an outrageous postmodern fictional montage wherein the author, represented as a fictitious character and narrator in the novel, spins a web of biography, history and myth into a effervescently farcical and sombrely perverse narrative, mellifluously illuminating the woman who "ceased to be what she said and what she did to become what people say she said and what people say she did." The end-result is a gripping tale which sheds new light upon details that biographers and historians commonly leave behind, seeking to unfold "the unexplained blank spaces" of her domain while tracking the political, mythical, historical body of desires which Evita's cadaver, the body of the nation, incorporates. And quite marvellously, in the interim, the textuality of Santa Evita undrapes the roots of the complex set of relations which provide an understanding of the corpus of discursive regularities that extend the representation of Argentina to Evita's embalmed cadaver as the novel bares and reconstructs the miracles, desires, secrets, and mysteries including the fragments and revelations which triggered the narrative flow, as "little by little Evita began to turn into a story that, before it ended, kindled another." Simply put, a literary work of art.

This novel is sure to spawn 10,000 dissertations in comparative literature. It is an extremely self-conscious work --- in fact, this gets to be too much at times. If you're into Deconstruction, then Santa Evita will thrill you. If you're looking for a straightforward narrative, then it will mystify you --- it's the literary equivalent of a jigsaw puzzle. Since my knowledge of the whole Evita phenomenon and the sociopolitical scene the novel engages is superficial, much of this work went over my head. I expect that it is laced with clever political puns that I missed. Fortunately, Martinez's gift for felicitous phrasing shines through even in translation.

In my opinion, the desires projected onto Evita's body (both political and personal) do make for interesting reading, but Martinez's many digressions on memory and the reconstruction of "reality" shamelessly hammer in a theme that's become far too trendy these days. Relatedly, his obstinate insistence that the truth only exists in versions can be heavy-handed at times, especially if you compare it to the subtle and brilliant way that someone like Lev Tolstoy (or even Andrei Makine) treats the same theme. In spite of these factors, Santa Evita is a good novel, with some truly excellent passages here and there. It seems almost heretical not to love it, but I have to admit I didn't. Sorry, but that's my version of the truth.

T. Eloy Martínez offers a truly special portrayal of Argentina's
first lady, Eva Perón. The story of her wandering cadaver is haunting, tragic and at times quite hilarious, and always mind-blowing. I recommend this novel. (I'm not sure the English translation is decent, so if you can, read it in Spanish). It's a great example of the poststructuralist novel of the 20th century.

Really a fantastic book, in which the novel is mixed with historical facts which not only captivates you in the way as it is written, but also introduces some light to certain facts that took place after Evita's death, specifically, the outregious destination given to Evita's body which were never publicly revealed.

For me, an Argentine citizien born in Buenos Aires some years (not many) after Evita's death, who in some way or in the other has been always captivated by Evita's personality, although did not share some of her political aspirations and procedures, was somehow tired of hearing huge and enormous amount of histories in relation to Evita's body, with this book I was illustrated in some portion of the history of my country which was secret and maintained undisclosed from the public for many years after Evita's death.

To those who may consider that some parts of this book appears more a fiction than a historical fact, well, believe it or not, it was a "real" portion of our past history and not "fiction" or "myth".

This is a terrific historical novel, effortlessly weaving through fact and fiction. I had trouble putting it down. It is an interesting commentary on our obsession with celebrities and the question of what is truth, what is myth? Can we ever really know the truth about those we consider "legends?"

I've been fascinated by the legend of Eva Peron for over 10 years now and I've always wondered why there hasn't been many full length books based on the mysterious (and disturbing) circumstances surrounding her embalmed corpse. We are talking about one of the 20th century's most controversial and fascinating woman and her astonishing story did not end at her death of uterine cancer in 1952 at the age of 33. Eva Peron's cancer ravaged body was preserved and restored to its former beauty by the Spanish embalmer Dr. Pedro Ara. It took him several years and by the time he finished his masterpiece, Argentina was in chaos, Juan Peron was exiled and Eva's body kidnapped by her enemies. Her corpse's whereabouts were a mystery for over a decade and its various escapades are the main subject of Martinez's novel yet despite the fascinating subject, the author failed to keep me intrigued. The novel is well written but I found it far too long (which was shocking to me as Eva Peron is a subject I never get tired of reading about) and the book may lose its readers attention during certain chapters.

It should be noted that even Eva Peron's critics may cringe when reading about the mistreatment (and molestation) of her corpse. It is really not that hard to understand why so many loved or fell in love or were captivated by Eva Peron in life (she was a striking woman and as the author points out in the book was "possessed of a beauty that made a person forget all other felicities of the universe"). What is hard to fathom is why someone, in this case a crazy General, was compelled to commit "ungodly" acts to her corpse. Witnesses do claim that Eva's mummy was lovely, so we may understand to a certain degree as to why Dr. Pedro Ara fell in love with it. She was his masterpiece, his work of art. Also believable is the hold this bronzed beauty would have over a young girl who innocently mistook her for a life-sized Barbie doll but the perverted fascination it would ignite on a certain General is a bit harder to swallow.

"Santa Evita" also deals (briefly) with Eva Peron's past. Eva's early life in the pampas, her early career as an actress and her transformation from a pale, unimpressive brunette to the blonde goddess she was to later become is presented through flashbacks and the author does include some of his own comments on the subject. Many of Eva's hardcore fans will find this novel interesting reading. I did too, but somehow it didn't grab hold of my attention the way I had originally anticipated despite the subject matter. It's a welcoming addition to Eva's catalogue but lacking and you may want to pick up another, more factual biography to satisfy any lingering questions that may linger.

Martinez has written a darkly fascinating novel about the afterlife of one of the world's most famous and well-travelled corpses. Not only does he tell a hauntingly absorbing story, but he generously allows us to share in the macabre journey of mind and spirit he undertook both in gathering his information and in piecing the book together. His fellow writers will find Martinez's insights into the creation of this work every bit as entertaining as the well-crafted story itself

While claiming to be a novel, much of what is written in this macabre book is documentable as fact. The lines between fact and fiction are hazy at best; but this enhances the fascination with the story of a novelist obsessed with Eva Peron as he researches her profound effect on her people, and as he searches out the trail her body took in the 17 years after her death. With accidental murder and possible necrophilia involved, this is not a light tale, but it's engrossing; for poetry fans, there seems to be a deliberate parallel drawn between the cult of Evita and the cult of Sylvia Plath. Truly a fascinating and frightening story

Seeing that "the only thing that can be done with reality is to invent it again," Tomás Eloy Martínez brilliantly transposes Evita's postmortem journey into an outrageous postmodern fictional montage wherein the author, represented as a fictitious character and narrator in the novel, spins a web of biography, history and myth into a effervescently farcical and sombrely perverse narrative, mellifluously illuminating the woman who "ceased to be what she said and what she did to become what people say she said and what people say she did." The end-result is a gripping tale which sheds new light upon details that biographers and historians commonly leave behind, seeking to unfold "the unexplained blank spaces" of her domain while tracking the political, mythical, historical body of desires which Evita's cadaver, the body of the nation, incorporates. And quite marvellously, in the interim, the textuality of Santa Evita undrapes the roots of the complex set of relations which provide an understanding of the corpus of discursive regularities that extend the representation of Argentina to Evita's embalmed cadaver as the novel bares and reconstructs the miracles, desires, secrets, and mysteries including the fragments and revelations which triggered the narrative flow, as "little by little Evita began to turn into a story that, before it ended, kindled another." Simply put, a literary work of art.

This book was so powerful. It drew me in, kept me glued, and haunted me for WEEKS after I put it down. Based on facts, but fictionalized, SANTA EVITA is a combination of biography, mystery, and history. And it's all very very fascinating. The drama and intrigue surrounding Evita's corpse equals no other. And by the time Eloy Martinez is finished weaving his story - you close the book wondering what was real, what wasn't, and what parts of the story you can believe! Wonderful example of the magico realismo (magic realism) the Argentines are known for!