I have a love-hate relationship with Marquez. I totally adore the novella Chronicle of A Death Foretold. I am not so fond of the 2-star Love In the Time of Cholera and find 100 Years of Solitude unfinishable – or maybe that should read unstartable, as I abandoned it after 50 pages. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Marquez’s fictional retelling of a real event, News of A Kidnapping, is another 5-star read. So I was more than keen when online book group, The Wolves, announced their December 2010 read.
Clandestine In Chile is the story of Miguel Littin, an exiled film director, who returned to direct a clandestine film about life in and resistance to Pinochet’s dictatorship. It was a mission fraught with danger, requiring six foreign film crews, support of the underground resistance and a complete change of identity for the director whose arty, dishevelled appearance and Chilean vocabulary and accent needed to morph into a that of a smart Uruguayan businessman. It also involved a change of spouse, and it transpired that Littin and his new wife were less than compatible!
Written in a fictional first person depicting events from Littin’s viewpoint, it soon became clear that the same tensions would have surfaced if I’d have filled the shoes of Littin’s false wife. Putting my own freedom, perhaps even life and limb, in danger when my “other half” can’t be bothered sticking to established protocols, meeting and check-in points. A cavalier attitude that is guaranteed to make my blood boil. As the mission continues and the police begin to close in, the cavalier turns careless. I could not believe what he did with the empty cigarette packets! I suspect Marquez felt as I did, so keen is he to assert in the author’s foreword that he did not always see eye-to-eye with Littin but was careful to perserve authenticity of the protagonist’s voice.
Personal antagonisms aside, there’s a lot to be learned about Chile in this book, particularly if, like me, you knew next to nothing at all. However,I never got a real feeling for life under Pinochet – that detail is obviously saved for Littin’s film. Due to the fact that the end is a foregone conclusion, neither was this read the thrill I was expecting having read News of A Kidnapping, (now added to the reread pile). One thing is sure – the kindling of my curiosity re the film. It doesn’t seem to be available in the UK. Does anyone know where I can track it down?
The only other Garcia Marquez I’ve read is Chronicle of the Death Foretold, which I enjoyed. I have never felt compelled to read Garcia Marquez. Someday I’ll give his longer works a shot I guess. I liked this one pretty well – like you I thought it was amusing that Garcia Marquez felt the need to point out that he didn’t necessarily see eye to eye with Littin. God, those cigarette packages! Funny.
I’ve done a little searching for the film – no luck so far. Very few of Littin’s films seem to be available in the states. Bummer.
I was supposed to buy Marquez’s Clandestine in Chile and make it my selection for the 2010 NYRB Reading Challenge but I held off on that. As much as I loved Love In the Time of Cholera, it’s true how unfinishable (or unstartable) 100 Years of Solitude is. I’m glad I stumbled upon your review. Now I might truly consider buying a copy of Clandestine in Chile.
Have a blessed 2011!
Really enjoy Garcia Marquez’s fiction but this left me a little mystified. Political statement at the same time he portrays Littin as a bit of a buffoon? Deciding to help get this story out so late in Pinochet’s time in office? Liked some parts but kept getting annoyed.
I picked up ’100 years’ after reading good things about it online. I couldn’t read beyond a few pages. I tried, I really did, to know what was the hype about the book, but reading that book was a torture. I vowed never to pick up another Marquez, but I might change my mind after your recommendation of ‘News of A Kidnapping’.