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The Return of Eva Peronby V. S. NaipaulWriters of "historical novels" commonly tell invented stories as if they were historical truth. In The Return of Eva Peron, V. S. Naipaul has, among other things, done the opposite: he examines some Argentine history as if he were analyzing a work of fiction. He makes clear at the outset that this is what he intends to do; the memorable first sentence of the essay is, "Outline it like a story by Borges." (He then lays out the basic elements of Eva Peron's story, and quotes Borges as saying, "That is a story I could never write.") The quotes from, anecdotes about, and references to the work of Jorge Borges are one of the primary appeals this essay has for me. Naipaul analyzes Borges cryptic short stories as "intellectual jokes," and devotes a fair amount of space to Borges' poetry, from which he quotes extensively. He also talks with Norman Thomas di Giovanni, Borges' translator into English, though he does not include much of his interviews with Borges himself. (He describes Borges as willing "to give lengthy interviews which repeat the interviews he has given.") Borges refuses, both in his poetry and in person, to refer to Peron by name, calling him instead "the dictator" or "the catastrophe". The other thing about this essay that appeals to me, is the beautiful, poetic description of how colonialism has imposed "a whole and sudden artificial society... on the flat, desolate land" of Argentina. In this connection, I would love to quote whole pages of Naipaul's lovely, nuanced writing; but I would much rather you read the essay yourself. |