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A review by kilburnadam
Human Matter: A Fiction by Rodrigo Rey Rosa
5.0
Human Matter by Rodrigo Rey Rosa is a novel that delves into the recent history of Guatemala and the state-sponsored violence that plagued the country for decades. The novel follows the narrator a writer named Rodrigo as he becomes increasingly obsessed with understanding the crimes against humanity that were perpetrated during 36 years but were only condemned after 1996.
Rodrigo is given access to the Guatemalan Archivo Histórico de la Policía Nacional, an enormous haul of police records. However he is eventually 'suspended' from digging around, leading to a long back and forth as to whether he can eventually get access again. The archives are sensitive material in a country with a record of violence by the state against its citizens, not just historically but up to the present day.
The narrator's mother was kidnapped in 1981 and held for some six months, and eventually the narrator learns that one of the possible reasons why he is later kept from the archives is due to concern that he might be nosing around looking into that still unsolved case.
The narrator becomes particularly interested in a man named Benedicto Tun who founded the Identification Bureau and worked there for almost five decades, whose name appears on the countless documents that went through his hands. When the narrator is unable to work in the archive proper he is still able to investigate Tun, he finds and contacts his son eventually getting more information through him.
The novel is presented in a style that is both meta-fictional and autofictional as it weaves the language of arrest records and surveillance reports with the contemporary journal entries of the narrator. The author uses a narrative strategy that keeps the reader engaged and on the edge, blurring the line between the hilarious and the disturbing. The reader is drawn into the narrator's world and becomes both empathetic and skeptical of his paranoia.
Human Matter is a powerful and thought-provoking novel that offers a unique perspective on the traumatic history of Guatemala. Combined with the inclusion of real police records and historical documents creates a compelling and immersive reading experience. The novel raises important questions about how we remember and understand the past, and the role of literature in shaping our collective memory.
Rodrigo is given access to the Guatemalan Archivo Histórico de la Policía Nacional, an enormous haul of police records. However he is eventually 'suspended' from digging around, leading to a long back and forth as to whether he can eventually get access again. The archives are sensitive material in a country with a record of violence by the state against its citizens, not just historically but up to the present day.
The narrator's mother was kidnapped in 1981 and held for some six months, and eventually the narrator learns that one of the possible reasons why he is later kept from the archives is due to concern that he might be nosing around looking into that still unsolved case.
The narrator becomes particularly interested in a man named Benedicto Tun who founded the Identification Bureau and worked there for almost five decades, whose name appears on the countless documents that went through his hands. When the narrator is unable to work in the archive proper he is still able to investigate Tun, he finds and contacts his son eventually getting more information through him.
The novel is presented in a style that is both meta-fictional and autofictional as it weaves the language of arrest records and surveillance reports with the contemporary journal entries of the narrator. The author uses a narrative strategy that keeps the reader engaged and on the edge, blurring the line between the hilarious and the disturbing. The reader is drawn into the narrator's world and becomes both empathetic and skeptical of his paranoia.
Human Matter is a powerful and thought-provoking novel that offers a unique perspective on the traumatic history of Guatemala. Combined with the inclusion of real police records and historical documents creates a compelling and immersive reading experience. The novel raises important questions about how we remember and understand the past, and the role of literature in shaping our collective memory.