The Secret Holy War of Santiago de Chile (Emerging Voices)

This novel is a modern Latin American classic of magical realism. When it was published in Chile in 1989, its combination of political satire, suspenseful plot structure, and corrosive humor kept it at the top of the Chilean best-seller list for many months. Marco Antonio de la Parra, variously harassed, censored and sometimes banned under the Pinochet regime, has created a bizarre, anarchic novel which lays bare the psyche of that troubled nation.