Resident Scholar Emeritus Mark Falcoff

As a frequent visitor to Chile and an avid fan of Chilean literature, I was deeply gratified to see the attention given to that subject in "Santiago's Poetry in Motion" (November/ December 2006). However, Veronica Cortinez's views betray a kind of intellectual glaucoma. It is true that Isabel Allende is the most popular writer in Chile, but just behind her (and not always) is Roberto Ampuero, whom she doesn't even mention. Ampuero's range is extraordinary--from political fiction to detective novels to erotica. His fictional gumshoe, Cayetano Brule, is as familiar to Chilean readers as Sherlock Holmes, perhaps more so.

This isn't just my opinion. Since his Quien mato a Cristian Kustermann? [Who Killed Cristien Kustermann?] won the prestigious El Mercurio prize for the best novel of the year, Ampuero's books have gone through 70 editions and sold 200,000 copies, not counting numerous pirated editions. If Chile's population were the same size as the United States', that would amount to sales of nearly 4 million copies. Publishers HarperCollins and Grupo Planeta, who are teaming up to publish in Spanish for the U.S. market, will release his latest novel, Pasiones griegas [Greek Passions], this year. (It has already rocketed to near the top of the bestseller list in Chile.)

One of Ampuero's most successful novels, Nuestros amos verde olivo [Our Years in Olive Green] tells the story of a young Chilean revolutionary--a refugee from Pinochet's terror--who finds temporary haven first in East Germany and then in Castro's Cuba. Once faced with "actually existing socialism," he loses his faith in communism. Could this have something to do with Cortinez's curious omission? One does wonder.

Mark Falcoff is a resident scholar emeritus at AEI.