Reasons of State

This extraordinary novel should be a must-read for anyone studying (or just willin to know more) current Latin-American history.

This is one of Alejo Carpentier's last novels, written when he was in his 70s, and to this reviewer one of his best. It begins early in 1914, a few months before the outbreak of World War I, and it ends (probably) in the mid-1920s--exactly when isn't clear. It tells the story of the rise and ultimate fall of the dictator of an unnamed South American country. The dictator is never named. Throughout the book he is referred to as the Head of State, or, occasionally, as the Dictator. When the novel begins, the dictator has been in power for about 20 years, and he is on an extended vacation is Paris. He is living a somewhat debauched life of luxury, living in a luxurious house replete with a cadre of servants and frequent upscale brothels where his fantasies are attended to. He is accorded all the respect and deference that a head of state might expect, and he has entree into all the salons of Paris society. His stature as head of state is apparently assisted by his considerable charm. World War I breaks out, and around the same time he receives word that there has been an uprising and coup attempt at home. Although the rebels have succeeded in winning over much of the country, some parts of the country are still loyal to him. He returns home and suppresses the rebellion with extreme brutality. Feeling secure in his position, he returns to Paris to continue his debauchery. However, he finds that he is now being shunned by the very Paris society that had previously accepted him; doors that were previously open are now closed. Why? Because, unknown to him, pictures of the slaughter that accompanied his suppression have been widely published in the Paris press. While he is bemoaning his ostracism by the Paris elite, he learns that another rebellion is taking place, this time being led by the very general who had helped suppress the first rebellion. He returns home and successfully suppresses this rebellion as well, although with much less brutality than the previous time. After putting down the second rebellion, he wisely decides that he had better stay at home and tend to running his country. This book is a very caustic satirical account of the history of a Latin American dictatorship, and I think it is Carpentier's intent for the viewer to regard this dictatorship as somewhat prototypical of Latin American dictatorships, or perhaps dictatorships everywhere. Carpentier has sometimes been classified--erroneously, in my opinion--with the Magical Realism school of authors. The reason I think this is incorrect is that, rather than depict things, as Garcia Marquez does, for example, that we know cannot happen in reality, Carpentier depicts events that can and do happen but that are so bizarre as to seem surreal and magical. Carpentier seems to be saying that the history of Latin America is so bizarre, so down right weird, as to seem unreal. For example, in this book the dictator, at one point, in an attempt to suppress Communism and any