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A review by harimau_belang
The Impostor by Javier Cercas
5.0
A week after the official start of the Indonesian presidential campaign, news broke that supporters of the incumbent allegedly assaulted one of the opposition’s spokesperson. While the public was still questioning the verity of this allegation, the opposition side held an unexpected public conference. Led by the candidate himself, the campaign team affirmed the accusation and vehemently criticized the government for allowing the assault. They even published the photographs of the bruised spokesperson. The news pulled the nation’s attention. Controversies ablaze, verdicts issued, and conspiracy theories were thrown around.
Strangely, the voice of reason that took credence came not from the realm of law or politic. It was from the field of cosmetic surgery that the truth unfolded. A cosmetic doctor analyzed the pictures, allegedly the evidence of the assault, and concluded that the injuries and swellings were not from a physical attack, but rather from cosmetic surgery. He cited the symmetry of the bruises and their similarities with the typical effects of a facelift or similar operations. A further investigation supported this theory. The police did not find any evidence that the spokesperson was admitted to a hospital in the area, contrary to the spokesperson’s account. Pictures of the spokesperson being treated in a place resembling a beauty clinic emerged. Confusion reigned. But increasingly, the “the spokesperson was lying” side gained more followers. Ultimately, both parties demanded the truth and pressed the spokesperson to hold her silence no more.
The rest, as they say, is history. The spokesperson’s name is Ratna Sarumpaet, a former human rights activist in the 90s. In a dramatic confession, she ultimately refuted the assault allegation. She confessed to having cosmetic surgery, the aftermath of which she disguised as the result from an attack. Maybe because of shame, possibly to avert disapproval, who knows, she hid the surgery from her family’s knowledge, thus sparking the rumor and, probably the most prominent political drama of that year. For almost two weeks, she had deceived the nation of 250 million people — a great impostor.
It is probably a divine providence that in the period this incident happened I was also reading this excellent book. The novel is about another, even greater impostor, Enric Marco, who fooled people from Spain and abroad to believe that he was involved in an anti-Franco and anti-Nazi resistance, as well as a victim of the Nazi concentration camp of Mauthausen.
Throughout the novel, Cercas examines the life of Enric Marco. He charts Marco’s life from birth to the present. Exposing the parts that are blatant lies, providing theories and pieces of evidence that might explain the truth. One of the qualities of this book is that the extraordinary life journey Marco claims for himself and the more likely version both explain Spain’s history and how its people confront the bleak history of the nation and the continent.
In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, which cost dearly for both sides, the Spanish population more or less accepted the authority of Franco. People from the losing side buried their identities, and only rarely they form a resistance. At that time a great war was engulfing Europe, claiming most of the nation’s attention. Franco managed to navigate a delicate balance during the war, not committing much to either side and led Spain relatively unscathed after World War II. During his reign, Spain also saw significant economic growth and stability.
However, Franco Spain is still a dictatorship. There were killings and kidnappings. Oppression on the free press. The dictatorship used civil and military apparatuses to maintain authority. Some people were behind this oppression because there was no other choice. Some willingly joined. After 40 years, the dictatorship died with Franco’s death. Miraculously, Spain transitioned peacefully into democracy shortly afterward. Some historians believed that the peaceful transition is possible because of restraint from both sides. The pro-Franco faction restrained from seizing power (which would have faced a massive opposition) and the anti-Franco restrained from heavily persecuting people who enabled the dictatorship.
For the Spanish population, the period after Franco was the time for reinvention. People involved in the dictatorship started to tailor another history for themselves, distancing themselves from Franco. This is the moment that Enric Marco used to slip his self-mythology. Cercas posits that at that point a majority of the population felt ashamed of themselves for complicity and more likely to revere a hero figure that maintained clandestine resistance.
Moreover, the novel explains, that Marco’s deception was facilitated further by the authority (underline “author”) of the victim and witness. People (arguably as it should) do not dare to question the victim. We are also less likely to undermine accounts of which we know little. This double blackmail Marco used effectively to his advantage.
Another quality that I like about this book is the philosophical ramifications of fiction, retelling, and authorship that the book explores engagingly. The book, for example, poses the question: if we understand Marco, would that entail that we identify with him, however temporarily, and through identification, does it mean that we, even for the minutest moment, lower our resistance towards evil? This novel provides convincing arguments for both sides, even if Cercas chooses one side over the other.
While the book is heavy (literally and figuratively), the chapters fly by without significant obstacle. Even the essayistic parts of the novel are digestible and engaging. It is a magnificent feat that Cercas could unmask Enric Marco in fiction without a lie.
Ratna Sarumpaet and Enric Marco are both an impostor at certain points in their lives. As to what enables their fiction, readers could glean from this masterful novel. Reading this book is like diagnosing ourselves on why we are easily susceptible to hoaxes and fake news. A timely read in this election year.
With the mastery of a true storyteller, Javier Cercas unmasks the fiction of Enric Marco and deliberates the nature of self-mythology, authorship, retelling, and the role of art in this post-truth world.
Strangely, the voice of reason that took credence came not from the realm of law or politic. It was from the field of cosmetic surgery that the truth unfolded. A cosmetic doctor analyzed the pictures, allegedly the evidence of the assault, and concluded that the injuries and swellings were not from a physical attack, but rather from cosmetic surgery. He cited the symmetry of the bruises and their similarities with the typical effects of a facelift or similar operations. A further investigation supported this theory. The police did not find any evidence that the spokesperson was admitted to a hospital in the area, contrary to the spokesperson’s account. Pictures of the spokesperson being treated in a place resembling a beauty clinic emerged. Confusion reigned. But increasingly, the “the spokesperson was lying” side gained more followers. Ultimately, both parties demanded the truth and pressed the spokesperson to hold her silence no more.
The rest, as they say, is history. The spokesperson’s name is Ratna Sarumpaet, a former human rights activist in the 90s. In a dramatic confession, she ultimately refuted the assault allegation. She confessed to having cosmetic surgery, the aftermath of which she disguised as the result from an attack. Maybe because of shame, possibly to avert disapproval, who knows, she hid the surgery from her family’s knowledge, thus sparking the rumor and, probably the most prominent political drama of that year. For almost two weeks, she had deceived the nation of 250 million people — a great impostor.
It is probably a divine providence that in the period this incident happened I was also reading this excellent book. The novel is about another, even greater impostor, Enric Marco, who fooled people from Spain and abroad to believe that he was involved in an anti-Franco and anti-Nazi resistance, as well as a victim of the Nazi concentration camp of Mauthausen.
Throughout the novel, Cercas examines the life of Enric Marco. He charts Marco’s life from birth to the present. Exposing the parts that are blatant lies, providing theories and pieces of evidence that might explain the truth. One of the qualities of this book is that the extraordinary life journey Marco claims for himself and the more likely version both explain Spain’s history and how its people confront the bleak history of the nation and the continent.
In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, which cost dearly for both sides, the Spanish population more or less accepted the authority of Franco. People from the losing side buried their identities, and only rarely they form a resistance. At that time a great war was engulfing Europe, claiming most of the nation’s attention. Franco managed to navigate a delicate balance during the war, not committing much to either side and led Spain relatively unscathed after World War II. During his reign, Spain also saw significant economic growth and stability.
However, Franco Spain is still a dictatorship. There were killings and kidnappings. Oppression on the free press. The dictatorship used civil and military apparatuses to maintain authority. Some people were behind this oppression because there was no other choice. Some willingly joined. After 40 years, the dictatorship died with Franco’s death. Miraculously, Spain transitioned peacefully into democracy shortly afterward. Some historians believed that the peaceful transition is possible because of restraint from both sides. The pro-Franco faction restrained from seizing power (which would have faced a massive opposition) and the anti-Franco restrained from heavily persecuting people who enabled the dictatorship.
For the Spanish population, the period after Franco was the time for reinvention. People involved in the dictatorship started to tailor another history for themselves, distancing themselves from Franco. This is the moment that Enric Marco used to slip his self-mythology. Cercas posits that at that point a majority of the population felt ashamed of themselves for complicity and more likely to revere a hero figure that maintained clandestine resistance.
Moreover, the novel explains, that Marco’s deception was facilitated further by the authority (underline “author”) of the victim and witness. People (arguably as it should) do not dare to question the victim. We are also less likely to undermine accounts of which we know little. This double blackmail Marco used effectively to his advantage.
Another quality that I like about this book is the philosophical ramifications of fiction, retelling, and authorship that the book explores engagingly. The book, for example, poses the question: if we understand Marco, would that entail that we identify with him, however temporarily, and through identification, does it mean that we, even for the minutest moment, lower our resistance towards evil? This novel provides convincing arguments for both sides, even if Cercas chooses one side over the other.
While the book is heavy (literally and figuratively), the chapters fly by without significant obstacle. Even the essayistic parts of the novel are digestible and engaging. It is a magnificent feat that Cercas could unmask Enric Marco in fiction without a lie.
Ratna Sarumpaet and Enric Marco are both an impostor at certain points in their lives. As to what enables their fiction, readers could glean from this masterful novel. Reading this book is like diagnosing ourselves on why we are easily susceptible to hoaxes and fake news. A timely read in this election year.
With the mastery of a true storyteller, Javier Cercas unmasks the fiction of Enric Marco and deliberates the nature of self-mythology, authorship, retelling, and the role of art in this post-truth world.