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As If No One Had Died
As If No One Had Died is a novel by Chilean author Poli Délano, translated from its original Spanish by Maggie Russell-Ciardi. It is a complex, polyphonic reflection on a critical moment in Chile's history-the years leading up to and immediately following the coup that overthrew the government of Salvador Allende and installed the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
The novel was written while Pinochet was still in power, when giving voice to those who were disappeared under his regime was a profoundly political act, a courageous insistence that it must not be as if no one had died.
The translation is currently available at: http://mcnallyjackson.com/bookmachine....
The novel was written while Pinochet was still in power, when giving voice to those who were disappeared under his regime was a profoundly political act, a courageous insistence that it must not be as if no one had died.
The translation is currently available at: http://mcnallyjackson.com/bookmachine....
193 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
346 people want to read
About the author
Poli Délano
60 books7 followersChileno. Hijo del escritor Luis Enrique Délano y la fotógrafa Aurora (Lola) Falcón (1907-2000), nace en la capital española, donde su padre había llegado en 1934 a estudiar Letras e Historia del Arte en la Universidad de Madrid. Durante su infancia vivió en varios países, principalmente en México y Estados Unidos, lugares en donde su padre se desempeña como cónsul de Chile en Ciudad de México (1940-46) y Nueva York (1946-49).
Poli Délano se casó con María Luisa Azócar, con quien tuvo dos hijas, Bárbara y Viviana. En 1953 comienza a estudiar pedagogía en inglés en la Universidad de Chile y seis años más tarde viaja a China con su esposa para trabajar como traductor. Publica su primer libro Gente solitaria precisamente cuando está en Pekín en 1960 y al año siguiente obtiene su primer Premio Municipal de Santiago.
Comienza a enseñar literatura estadounidense en el Instituto Pedagógico de la Universidad de Chile en 1962, cargo que desempeñará hasta que se vea obligado a salir de su país en 1973, después del golpe militar de Augusto Pinochet.
Vivió exiliado en México entre 1974 y 1984, año en que pudo regresar a Chile, donde reside actualmente, dedicado a escribir. De 1987 a 1988 presidió la Sociedad de Escritores de Chile.
Varias de sus novelas y cuentos han sido traducidos al francés, inglés, ruso y otros idiomas.
El sobrenombre Poli, se lo puso Pablo Neruda, cuando aún era un recién nacido en alusión a su gran tamaño y peso, al exclamar: "este niño es un polifemo".
Su hija Bárbara, socióloga y poetisa, falleció en un accidente aéreo en 1996. Cuadernos de Bárbara, libro con toda su poesía, recopilado y ordenado por su madre, María Luisa Azócar, ganó el Premio Altazor de las Artes Nacionales 2007.
Poli Délano se casó con María Luisa Azócar, con quien tuvo dos hijas, Bárbara y Viviana. En 1953 comienza a estudiar pedagogía en inglés en la Universidad de Chile y seis años más tarde viaja a China con su esposa para trabajar como traductor. Publica su primer libro Gente solitaria precisamente cuando está en Pekín en 1960 y al año siguiente obtiene su primer Premio Municipal de Santiago.
Comienza a enseñar literatura estadounidense en el Instituto Pedagógico de la Universidad de Chile en 1962, cargo que desempeñará hasta que se vea obligado a salir de su país en 1973, después del golpe militar de Augusto Pinochet.
Vivió exiliado en México entre 1974 y 1984, año en que pudo regresar a Chile, donde reside actualmente, dedicado a escribir. De 1987 a 1988 presidió la Sociedad de Escritores de Chile.
Varias de sus novelas y cuentos han sido traducidos al francés, inglés, ruso y otros idiomas.
El sobrenombre Poli, se lo puso Pablo Neruda, cuando aún era un recién nacido en alusión a su gran tamaño y peso, al exclamar: "este niño es un polifemo".
Su hija Bárbara, socióloga y poetisa, falleció en un accidente aéreo en 1996. Cuadernos de Bárbara, libro con toda su poesía, recopilado y ordenado por su madre, María Luisa Azócar, ganó el Premio Altazor de las Artes Nacionales 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 17, 2016
I'm conflicted about this book.
It took me *forever* to read it. I think the only reason I got to the end was that it was given to me by the translator as part of the Goodreads first reads giveaway program. As a translator myself I totally get why she was enamored and moved to translate it. I'm not sure if it was the translation or the original that made the pace so challenging. The last handful of pages, however, had me rapt. Upon finishing, I wish so badly that they were what started the book. It would have helped me care, which I didn't do for the majority.
There are some edit-y things that my inner pedant couldn't help but notice. And I know beyond a doubt that if I had read this 20+ years ago I would have loved it. The writing feels a bit dated...and it *feels* translated, which is a style and one that I can appreciate, one that in the past has resonated with me, it just doesn't as much anymore. The romance of language is there, certainly.
Beautiful language, slow pace, distracting typos, and an end that should have been the beginning. There are many readers to whom I'd happily recommend this book.
It took me *forever* to read it. I think the only reason I got to the end was that it was given to me by the translator as part of the Goodreads first reads giveaway program. As a translator myself I totally get why she was enamored and moved to translate it. I'm not sure if it was the translation or the original that made the pace so challenging. The last handful of pages, however, had me rapt. Upon finishing, I wish so badly that they were what started the book. It would have helped me care, which I didn't do for the majority.
There are some edit-y things that my inner pedant couldn't help but notice. And I know beyond a doubt that if I had read this 20+ years ago I would have loved it. The writing feels a bit dated...and it *feels* translated, which is a style and one that I can appreciate, one that in the past has resonated with me, it just doesn't as much anymore. The romance of language is there, certainly.
Beautiful language, slow pace, distracting typos, and an end that should have been the beginning. There are many readers to whom I'd happily recommend this book.
April 9, 2016
An interesting read on the coup that replaced Salvador Allende and installed Augusto Pinochet as the Dictator of Chile. This period in the history of Chile is very fascinating and makes a good read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews