Praise for Springtime in a Broken Mirror:
"Benedetti has crafted a portrait of the 'long parenthesis' opened up in Uruguay's society, from which 'nobody will be able to pick up the thread of the original sentence.'"
—New York Times Book Review"A wise, lonely novel [and an] "honest reflection of exile."—The New YorkerA "rich, heartbreaking novel. . . . Benedetti's tender yet unflinching portrait of a family in the crushing straits of history is a welcome addition to the small (and hopefully growing) catalogue of his work that has been translated into English."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"This powerful novel evokes the works of Gabriel García Márquez."—Kirkus Reviews
"Mario Benedetti was full of joy . . . he wrote it all, and his genius, his talent, and his courage have created a beautiful body of work. He is exemplary."—José Saramago
"This is a masterful novel, but for English-speaking readers it is also an overdue one. More Benedetti can't come soon enough, I say."—Malcolm Forbes, The National
"This is the perfect way to enter the rich and luminous world of Mario Benedetti, one of the great Latin American writers of the past century. He was a prolific poet, novelist, journalist, and master of the short story form, and this sad and beautiful novel brings all of his many talents into focus. Despite the note of alienation that inevitably haunts this novel, Springtime in a Broken Mirror left me in a mood of exultation. The human spirit presses through the cracks in history here, and this novel feels wonderfully fresh, its hero unbowed in the face of exile and bereavement."—Jay Parini, author of The Last Station and The Damascus Road
"Springtime in a Broken Mirror is written like a psalm—a beautiful meditation on exile, dictatorships and the lives elevated and isolated by the struggle against both."—Fatima Bhutto, author of Song of Blood and Sword and The Shadow of the Crescent MoonPraise for Mario Benedetti:"One of Latin America's most respected, popular and prolific writers, who excelled as a novelist, poet, playwright and essayist while immersing himself in the region's political struggles."—The New York Times"In Latin America and Spain, [Benedetti] is remembered above all as a poet who sought to speak of love and political commitment as directly and passionately as possible. In one of his last poems he gave the instructions: 'When I'm buried / don't forget to put a Biro in my coffin.'"—The Guardian
2019-02-04
A military dictatorship fragments a family in this short novel by the late Uruguayan writer Benedetti (1920-2009; Blood Pact, 1997, etc.), originally published in 1982 and translated into English for the first time.
Santiago sits indefinitely in a Uruguayan prison because of his political activism while his wife, Graciela, and their 9-year-old daughter, Beatriz, have lived in exile for the past five years. He exchanges long letters with Graciela and thinks wistfully that "the only proof of god's existence are Graciela's legs." Readers might wonder where he gets all the paper—the letters are that long—and nothing in them seems to catch the attention of the censors. Benedetti explores the pain of separation from loved ones, the mix of loneliness, hope and despair in a man who has no idea when he'll be released. Santiago's father, Don Rafael believes that memories of the family may be keeping his son alive. But the confinement will destroy what they have, because, as Graciela says, "The fact is, I don't need Santiago anymore." Prison changes both husband and wife, but her letters do not reveal that she has drifted out of love. Perhaps, she thinks, she is falling in love with Santiago's best friend and fellow leftist, Rolando. She daydreams only of Rolando but she can't bring herself to break the news to Santiago while he is still in prison, as it would destroy him. "I still love him as a wonderful friend," she confides to the sympathetic Don Rafael, "a comrade whose behaviour has been beyond reproach." The language is often beautifully expressive, as when Don Rafael reflects that one day his son "will have to see Graciela through the bars of another man's love." Beatriz adds her own childlike insights, perhaps reflecting a cognitive disability, noting for example that "freedom is a huge word" that "means many things" such as liberty, but her father is at Liberty Prison, which confuses her. One day Uruguay will be transformed, Don Rafael believes, "born in the backroom of the forbidden," but "we'll never again be what we were." This powerful novel evokes the works of Gabriel García Márquez.
Vivid characters caught in a repressive regime fuel this powerful novel.
