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Reading lists

Must-read classic books set in prison

Springtime in a Broken Mirror

An extraordinary story of love and exile, from one of the great masters of the Latin American novel 
 
'Having news from you is like opening a window' 
 
Santiago is trapped. Taken political prisoner in Montevideo after a brutal military coup, he can do nothing but write letters to his family, and try to stay sane. Far away in a different country, his father tries to adjust to life in exile, his daughter marvels at the big city, and his beautiful, careworn wife finds herself irresistibly drawn to another man, as day by day Santiago edges closer to freedom. 
 
 Told with tenderness and fury through the voices of a family torn apart by history, Springtime in a Broken Mirror asks whether shattered lives can ever truly be mended. 
 
'A masterful novel ... a remarkable collage of unique perspectives - or shards from that eponymous broken mirror' The National

This powerful novel evokes the works of Gabriel García Marquez ... vivid and beautifully expressive

A "rich, heartbreaking novel. . . . Benedetti's tender yet unflinching portrait of a family in the crushing straits of history is a welcome addition to the small (and hopefully growing) catalogue of his work that has been translated into English

Equal parts funny and tragic [...]  a wise, lonely novel about political exile

An exercise in empathy and a visceral record of the ravages of exile, torture and incarceration on revolutionaries and their families ...moments of descriptive grace are overshadowed by devastating details ... Interspliced with the family story are accounts of exiles around the world, including Benedetti's own, highlighting the documentary value of this book, which will continue to grow with time.

Springtime in a Broken Mirror is written like a psalm; a beautiful meditation on exile, dictatorships and the lives elevated and isolated by the struggle against both.

This is the perfect way to enter the rich and luminous world of Mario Benedetti, one of the great Latin American writers of the past century. He was a prolific poet, novelist, journalist, and master of the short story form, and this sad and beautiful novel brings all of his many talents into focus. It's the portrait of Santiago, a prisoner of conscience, a man separated not only his family but cut off from the possibilities of taking a relevant stand in the face of political winds that seem destined to tear him apart. And yet hope keeps pushing through what Benedetti calls "the tiny jungle of his astonishment." Despite the note of alienation that inevitably haunts this novel, Springtime in a Broken Mirror left me in a mood of exultation. The human spirit presses through the cracks in history here, and this novel feels wonderfully fresh, its hero unbowed in the face of exile and bereavement

Jay Parini, author of THE LAST STATION and THE DAMASCUS ROAD

Mario Benedetti (Author) Mario Orlando Hamlet Hardy Brenno Benedetti, known as Mario Benedetti, was a Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet. He is considered one of the most important 20th century Latin American writers, especially in the Spanish-speaking world. A revolutionary and a passionate romantic, Benedetti wrote of love, anger, political resistance and redemption, particularly during the period of his enforced exile from Uruguay, between 1973 and 1985. One of his last poems encapsulated his unquenchable creative urge: "When I'm buried / don't forget to put a Biro in my coffin." Nick Caistor (Translator) Nick Caistor was formerly the BBC's Latin America analyst. He has translated more than fifty works of fiction by authors from Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and many other Latin American countries, as well from Spain and France. He is also the author of biographies of Octavio Paz. Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, and a cultural history of Mexico City.

Santiago is trapped. Taken political prisoner in Montevideo after a brutal military coup, he can do nothing but write letters to his family, and try to stay sane. 
 
Far away, his nine-year-old daughter Beatrice wonders at the marvels of 1970s Buenos Aires, but her grandpa and mother - Santiago's beautiful, careworn wife, Graciela - struggle to adjust to a life in exile. Graciela fights to retain the fiery passion that suffused her marriage, her politics, her whole life, as day by day Santiago edges closer to freedom. But Santiago's rakish, reckless best friend is a constant, brooding presence in the exiles' lives, and Graciela finds herself drawn irresistibly towards him. 
 
A lucid, heart-wrenching saga of a family torn apart by the forces of history, Springtime in a Broken Mirror tells with tenderness and fury of the indelible imprint politics leaves on individual lives. Generous and unflinching, it asks whether the broken bonds of family and history can ever truly be mended.

The Diary of Martín Santomé

The Truce

'Perhaps that moment had been exceptional, but still, I felt alive. That pressure on my chest means being alive.' 
 
Forty-nine, with a kind face, no serious ailments (apart from varicose veins on his ankles), a good salary and three moody children, widowed accountant Martín Santomé is about to retire. He assumes he'll take up gardening, or the guitar, or whatever retired people do. What he least expects is to fall passionately in love with his shy young employee Laura Avellaneda. As they embark upon an affair, happy and irresponsible, Martín begins to feel the weight of his quiet existence lift - until, out of nowhere, their joy is cut short. 
 
The intimate, heartbreaking diary of an ordinary man who is reborn when he falls in love one final time, this beloved Latin American novel has been translated into twenty languages and sold millions of copies worldwide, and is now published in Penguin Classics for the first time.

In this book, all the emotions of your life are identified, named and renamed. When you read it, you won't believe that you've felt so much

Arresting... emotionally astute, melancholic, uplifting and tragic... This book was written in 1960 and now, deservedly, it is a Penguin Modern Classic

The Truce remains a Latin American classic. Expertly translated here by Harry Morales, it is a simple tale about a straightforward man who falls in love with a younger woman - until disaster strikes and wrenches them apart... Intimate and moving, this novel is a real find

This 1960 Latin American classic had me laughing, blubbing and eager to discover more of Benedetti's books... If you imagine that being 50 heralds a life of daytime TV, cocoa and slippers, then this life-enhancing novel will shatter your dread

Mario Orlando Hamlet Hardy Brenno Benedetti, known as Mario Benedetti, was a Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet. He is considered one of the most important 20th century Latin American writers, especially in the Spanish-speaking world. A revolutionary and a passionate romantic, Benedetti wrote of love, anger, political resistance and redemption, particularly during the period of his enforced exile from Uruguay, between 1973 and 1985. One of his last poems encapsulated his unquenchable creative urge: "When I'm buried / don't forget to put a Biro in my coffin."

Mario Benedetti

Mario Benedetti was one of the greatest Latin American writers of the twentieth century ... Who Among Us pays remarkable attention to the most subtle nuances of psychological complexities

Finally, Who Among Us arrives in Italy

Benedetti descends into that equivocal zone in which gestures, silences and words can represent, with the same effectiveness, both hate and love, piety and indifference [...] This novel is a jewel, small but precious, of the ancient sort which, usually, are handed down from generation to generation and which over time continue to shine in the eyes of all who see them [...] A story about love, friendship and ambiguity, an extraordinary fresco on loneliness and passing time, an intense and beautiful book, one of those books that enters the soul, which it is impossible not to be conquered by. It is a masterpiece like few others. Do not let it escape

How do you stun a reader forever, in just 100 pages? You can find out by reading Mario Benedetti ... The novel casts a perfect, geometric figure

They met when they were teenagers. Quiet, poor, perhaps even a little dull, Miguel fell for languid Alicia during their long walks back from school. Then Lucas arrived and changed everything, entrancing Alicia with his confident bohemian charm. Miguel could not compete. But he stuck around and, against all the odds, was the one Alicia ended up marrying. 
 
Now, eleven years later, their marriage has begun to fray, and Alicia sets out to see Lucas again. Yet gnawing at each member of the ménage a trois is the knowledge that, somewhere along the line, something has gone badly awry. 
 
In a final heady whirl of sex and obsession, treachery and blame, they all struggle to ascertain: who among them is to blame?

Mario Benedetti

Praise for Who Among Us?

Fascinating and original

Mario Benedetti was one of the greatest Latin American writers of the twentieth century ... Who Among Us pays remarkable attention to the most subtle nuances of psychological complexities

Finally, Who Among Us arrives in Italy

Fascinating and original

Mario Benedetti was one of the greatest Latin American writers of the twentieth century ... Who Among Us pays remarkable attention to the most subtle nuances of psychological complexities

Finally, Who Among Us arrives in Italy

Fascinating and original

Mario Benedetti was one of the greatest Latin American writers of the twentieth century ... Who Among Us pays remarkable attention to the most subtle nuances of psychological complexities

Finally, Who Among Us arrives in Italy

Books by Mario Benedetti

Articles featuring Mario Benedetti

Must-read classic books set in prison

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