User:Raluca Cretu

Bellini, Giuseppe. La narrativa de Miguel Angel Asturias. Buenos Aires: Losada, 1969.

La narrativa de Miguel Angel Asturias, written by Giuseppe Bellini focuses on the life and works of this noted Guatemalean Author. The book begins by analyzing the important moments of the author’s life and how they influenced his work. Bellini shows from the very beginning that Asurias had an undeniable fascination with two particular subjects: the political reality of Guatemala and the legends of his pre-Colombian country. He goes on to explain that from an early age, Asturias was exposed to the injustice of the political tyranny in his native country of Guatemala. In the first part of the book we learn that both of his parents showed a strong opposition against the dictatorship, which influenced their social standing in a negative manner and inspired Asturias to express the inequity of this tyranny in his works. Bellini goes to show how the novels El Senor Presidente and Weekend in Guatemala reflect this writer’s profound frustration with the system.

Giuseppe Bellini’s book contains vital information about this Hispanic author’s various works and tries to explain the intent and inspiration behind each one of his works. After a brief description of his early life, we learn about Asturias’ fascination with sacred pre- Colombian texts such as Vopul Vuh and Anales de los Xahil. Bellini then shows how the translation of these two texts heavily influenced our author, encouraging him to use the same style and atmosphere as encountered in the previously mentioned books. These two techniques later become Asturias’ trademark.

The author of La Narrative de Miguel Angel Asturias then breaks down the most important works and shows the different techniques used in each book. He explains how his first book, Las Lyendas de Guatemala, displays the same style and tone as the pre Colombian texts and shows the various rhetorical devices used (21). In this book, reality and legend come together in a poetic atmosphere while Asturias educates his public about the origins of his native country. He also looks at the various uses of onomatopoeia and rhythm and how it contributes to flow of the story.

In the next chapter of the book, Bellini talks about Asturias’ most well known work, El Senor Presidente. We are shown why Asturias believes that American political system has deformed into a disorganized reality and encourages the readers to hope for freedom and justice. Bellini constantly supports these arguments with historical facts as well as direct quotations from the book. This chapter is very helpful because it not only explains in detail the intent behind this work but also shows the various techniques that Asturias uses in order to validate his ideas (58).

In the next chapter Bellini talks about the various influences of Popul Vuh upon Asturias’ next work, Hombres de Mais. He also explains some of the symbolism which can be encountered in this book and the impact that this technique has upon Asturias’ work. Bellini also discusses some of Miguel Asturias` less known work, such as Weekend in Guatemala, a politic novel and Ojos de los Enterrados, which focuses upon the social consciousness of the Guatemalan people after the fall of the dictator Jeorge Ublico. This chapter also shows how Alhajadito y Mulato, one of his last novels, displays once again this author’s fascination with legends and magic. Bellini also briefly discusses how our author presents the relationship between time and death and its importance to this novel. (189)

This book provides very important information about the life and works of this author and explains why Miguel Angel Asturias is one of the most famous Hispanic writers in the world.