Harsh Times by Mario Vargas Llosa

 

This novel is a fictional retelling of the political environment and events of life in Guatemala in the 1950's.  Jacobo Arbenz was the elected president of the country with a progressive agenda, especially land reform as foreign interests such as United Fruit held much of the best land leaving the native Indian population in poverty.  This agenda did not suit the business interests, which were focused mainly in the United States and asked for help from the government.  The CIA and President Eisenhower got involved, spreading lies that Arbenz was a Communist and that he was the beginning of communism taking over all of South America.  This led to a CIA backed coup that unseated Arbenz and installed Carlo Castillo Armas instead.

The story is told through the lives of various participants.  Notable among them was a woman known as Miss Guatemala who was the mistress of several of the men at the top and later a political journalist.  While serving as mistress to the President, she was also working with the CIA providing gossip and intelligence.  When events heated up, the CIA helped her escape to another South American country and eventually to the United States.  We also hear the story of the head of the security forces who was falsely accused of the murder and lost everything as he served time in prison.  Other players were forced into exile, roaming the earth in search of new lives but never finding them.

Mario Vargas Llosa is known for his books about the political events in South America as well as biographical novels about various writers and artists.  He was born in Peru but spent much time overseas during the turbulent times of the 1950's and 1960's.  His work is celebrated as exposing much of the background behind the events taking place and how foreign manipulation put the South American countries behind in their quest for independence.  I listened to this novel and the narrator was perfect; his accent and pronunciation of names added to the experience.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers as well as those interested in political events.