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Der General findet keine Ruhe
20. Juni 1973. General Juan Domingo Perón sitzt im Flugzeug, das ihn aus dem Madrider Exil nach Buenos Aires bringen soll; hinter ihm seine dritte Frau, blond auch sie. Das Vaterland, redet sie ihm ein, harre seiner straffen Hand. Der Flug aus dem europäischen Sommer in den argentinischen Winter wird zur politischen Groteske.
Der Autor von ›Santa Evita‹ erzählt das bizarre Comeback von General Perón in sein Land Argentinien, 21 Jahre nach Evitas Tod - gespenstig, hysterisch, komisch.
Der Autor von ›Santa Evita‹ erzählt das bizarre Comeback von General Perón in sein Land Argentinien, 21 Jahre nach Evitas Tod - gespenstig, hysterisch, komisch.
469 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
42 people are currently reading
542 people want to read
About the author
Tomás Eloy Martínez
40 books106 followersTomás Eloy Martínez obtained a degree in Spanish and Latin American literature from the University of Tucumán, and an MA at the University of Paris. From 1957 to 1961 he was a film critic in Buenos Aires for the La Nación newspaper, and he then was editor in chief (1962-69) of the magazine Primera Plana. From 1969 to 1970 he worked as a reporter in Paris. In 1969 Martínez interviewed former Argentine President Juan Domingo Perón, who was exiled in Madrid. These interviews were the basis for two of his more celebrated novels, La Novela de Perón (1985) and Santa Evita (1995). In 1970 he and many former writers of Primera Plana worked at the magazine Panorama, where Martínez was the director.
On 15 August 1972 he learned of the uprising of political prisoners in the jail at Rawson, Chubut Province. Panorama was the only publication in Buenos Aires that reported the correct story of the affair in Rawson, which differed significantly from the official version of the de facto Argentine government. On 22 August he was fired at the behest of the government, whereupon he went to Rawson and the neighboring city of Trelew where he reported the Massacre of Trelew in his book The Passion According to Trelew. The book was banned by the Argentine dictatorship.
For three years (1972-75) Martínez was in charge of the cultural supplement of La Nación, after which he lived in exile (1975-83) in Caracas, Venezuela, where he remained active as a journalist, founding the newspaper El Diario. In his book "The Memoirs of the General" he recounts that he was threatened by the "Triple A", the Alianza Anticomunista Argentina, and on one occasion, gunmen held a pistol to the head of his 3-year-old son because they were witnesses to a crime Martínez believed to be an operation led by the far-right paramilitary group. He subsequently started the newspaper Siglo 21 in Guadalajara, Mexico, and created the literary supplement Primer Plano for the newspaper Página/12 in Buenos Aires.
Martínez has also been a teacher and lecturer. He taught (1984-87) at the University of Maryland. In 1995, he took a position as distinguished professor and director of the Latin American Studies program at Rutgers University, New Jersey. He lived in nearby Highland Park, New Jersey until about 3 years ago when he returned to Argentina to live. He wrote columns for La Nación and the New York Times syndicate, and his articles have appeared in many newspapers and journals in Latin America.
He has published a number of books, one of which, Santa Evita, has been translated into 32 languages and published in 50 countries. He was awarded the Guggenheim and Woodrow Wilson fellowships, and won the 2002 Alfaguara award for the novel Flight of the Queen. His works deal primarily (but not exclusively) with Argentina during and after the rule of Juan Domingo Perón and his wife, Eva Duarte de Perón (Evita).
Martínez died in Buenos Aires after a long battle against a brain tumor.
On 15 August 1972 he learned of the uprising of political prisoners in the jail at Rawson, Chubut Province. Panorama was the only publication in Buenos Aires that reported the correct story of the affair in Rawson, which differed significantly from the official version of the de facto Argentine government. On 22 August he was fired at the behest of the government, whereupon he went to Rawson and the neighboring city of Trelew where he reported the Massacre of Trelew in his book The Passion According to Trelew. The book was banned by the Argentine dictatorship.
For three years (1972-75) Martínez was in charge of the cultural supplement of La Nación, after which he lived in exile (1975-83) in Caracas, Venezuela, where he remained active as a journalist, founding the newspaper El Diario. In his book "The Memoirs of the General" he recounts that he was threatened by the "Triple A", the Alianza Anticomunista Argentina, and on one occasion, gunmen held a pistol to the head of his 3-year-old son because they were witnesses to a crime Martínez believed to be an operation led by the far-right paramilitary group. He subsequently started the newspaper Siglo 21 in Guadalajara, Mexico, and created the literary supplement Primer Plano for the newspaper Página/12 in Buenos Aires.
Martínez has also been a teacher and lecturer. He taught (1984-87) at the University of Maryland. In 1995, he took a position as distinguished professor and director of the Latin American Studies program at Rutgers University, New Jersey. He lived in nearby Highland Park, New Jersey until about 3 years ago when he returned to Argentina to live. He wrote columns for La Nación and the New York Times syndicate, and his articles have appeared in many newspapers and journals in Latin America.
He has published a number of books, one of which, Santa Evita, has been translated into 32 languages and published in 50 countries. He was awarded the Guggenheim and Woodrow Wilson fellowships, and won the 2002 Alfaguara award for the novel Flight of the Queen. His works deal primarily (but not exclusively) with Argentina during and after the rule of Juan Domingo Perón and his wife, Eva Duarte de Perón (Evita).
Martínez died in Buenos Aires after a long battle against a brain tumor.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
July 14, 2024
I first read this novel at least fifteen years ago and I thought it wonderfully brilliant, insightful and, at times, very funny in the way things that are horrible, but also bizarre, can sometimes be and even though you are often embarrassed to be laughing about things that are horrible and evil you can't help yourself. I also thought that, although a novel, it was possibly the best and most honest thing available in English about Peron (which is why I have shelved it as History-Biography and History-Argentina).
Rereading it now I have lost none of my admiration for the book because the story of the man at the centre of the novel, and of a huge chunk of Argentina's 20th century history is so hard to get a grip on. Peron was in many ways a ridiculous idol/hero of the people. He seems a joke, almost as absurd as his iconic wife Evita - the Virgin/whore/saint/mother of the people - but you have to account for why, when he returned to Argentina in 1973 after a quarter century in exile, three million people turned up at the airport to greet him (and to be disappointed when his plane was diverted to another airport and untold numbers of them were massacred by army sharpshooters - disappointment and death was a regular feature of Peronisms reality). Even Pope John Paul II at the height of his popularity couldn't pull in such numbers.
But who was Peron? Was he ever anything? or just a reflection of the hopes of others? Read this wonderful book and you will at least be in a position to try and understand what he was and wasn't.
Rereading it now I have lost none of my admiration for the book because the story of the man at the centre of the novel, and of a huge chunk of Argentina's 20th century history is so hard to get a grip on. Peron was in many ways a ridiculous idol/hero of the people. He seems a joke, almost as absurd as his iconic wife Evita - the Virgin/whore/saint/mother of the people - but you have to account for why, when he returned to Argentina in 1973 after a quarter century in exile, three million people turned up at the airport to greet him (and to be disappointed when his plane was diverted to another airport and untold numbers of them were massacred by army sharpshooters - disappointment and death was a regular feature of Peronisms reality). Even Pope John Paul II at the height of his popularity couldn't pull in such numbers.
But who was Peron? Was he ever anything? or just a reflection of the hopes of others? Read this wonderful book and you will at least be in a position to try and understand what he was and wasn't.
April 25, 2015
What does the average North American know about Argentina in the Twentieth Century? It was all about Evita ("Don't cry for me Argentina!") with her shadowy husband Juan Domingo Peron lurking somewhere in the background.
Tomás Eloy Martínez wrote two novels which kind of sort of danced around Evita. One (Santa Evita) was about the travels of her embalmed body after death. The other, The Peron Novel, dealt primarily with Peron before he met Evita, then skips forward to his return to Argentina after his Spanish exile, only to die within a few weeks.
I felt a bit cheated by the live Evita playing such a minor role in Martinez's novels. Still, the Argentinian did capture the essence of Peron's genius:
Peron's vague ideology made him attractive to too many discordant forces, from the military rightists to the Montonero Socialist guerrillas. It was to take over ten years for the bad blood to drain out of the system. Even today, President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner calls herself a Peronist, which in today's milieu means almost nothing.
Tomás Eloy Martínez wrote two novels which kind of sort of danced around Evita. One (Santa Evita) was about the travels of her embalmed body after death. The other, The Peron Novel, dealt primarily with Peron before he met Evita, then skips forward to his return to Argentina after his Spanish exile, only to die within a few weeks.
I felt a bit cheated by the live Evita playing such a minor role in Martinez's novels. Still, the Argentinian did capture the essence of Peron's genius:
The reason I've been a leading figure in history time and time again, is precisely because I have contradicted myself. You've already heard about [Count von] Schlieffen's strategy. You have to change plans several times a day, pull them out one at a time, as needed. The socialist fatherland? I invented it. The conservative fatherland? I keep it alive. I have to blow in all directions like the cock on the weathervane.Thousands of people were waiting at Ezeiza Airport for Peron's plane to land, such that it became an ugly mob scene with over three million people present and numerous fatalities.
Peron's vague ideology made him attractive to too many discordant forces, from the military rightists to the Montonero Socialist guerrillas. It was to take over ten years for the bad blood to drain out of the system. Even today, President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner calls herself a Peronist, which in today's milieu means almost nothing.
June 12, 2018
Extraordinaria obra, antes había leído la novela sobre Evita del mismo autor. Me deja muchas dudas sobre el grupo "Montoneros", buscaré algo por ahí...
August 28, 2020
Me ha costado leerlo debido a los recursos utilizados por el autor, pero ha valido mil veces la pena.
August 13, 2016
The date is June 20, 1973, and Peron is returning to Argentina after 18 years in exile in Madrid, Spain, returning as newly-elected president.
The varying perspectives kept this novel from reading easily, but it was an effective method as it mimics the elusiveness of fact versus fiction, even alluded to in the title. All action takes place over the course of one day w/ flashbacks into the history of the characters and the moment when their lives interlocked w/ Peron.
Told in the 3rd person, the story of Peron's homecoming is portrayed from multiple perspectives: from Peron himself, from "supporter" Arca Gobbi, from journalists Zamora and Martinez, from Peron's still living relatives, from reluctant replacement president Campora, from revolutionist Noon, from Peron's advisor Lopez, and more.
Most interesting are sections where Peron (or mostly Lopez) writes his memoirs (interspersed w/ Peron's actual memory of what happened), and alternating sections where Noon reads from what the reader believes to be the actual history of Juan Domingo Peron. This begs the question, "What is truth? Is history truth or is history written from the memories, sometimes willfully distorted, of deceptive men? Which is more important - what actually happened, or what we remember happening? What we think, what we remember, drives humans/citizens/presidents to revolt/honor/kill/lead and thus cannot be discounted. This book makes an excellent effort at showing glimpses of that dichotomy.
The varying perspectives kept this novel from reading easily, but it was an effective method as it mimics the elusiveness of fact versus fiction, even alluded to in the title. All action takes place over the course of one day w/ flashbacks into the history of the characters and the moment when their lives interlocked w/ Peron.
Told in the 3rd person, the story of Peron's homecoming is portrayed from multiple perspectives: from Peron himself, from "supporter" Arca Gobbi, from journalists Zamora and Martinez, from Peron's still living relatives, from reluctant replacement president Campora, from revolutionist Noon, from Peron's advisor Lopez, and more.
Most interesting are sections where Peron (or mostly Lopez) writes his memoirs (interspersed w/ Peron's actual memory of what happened), and alternating sections where Noon reads from what the reader believes to be the actual history of Juan Domingo Peron. This begs the question, "What is truth? Is history truth or is history written from the memories, sometimes willfully distorted, of deceptive men? Which is more important - what actually happened, or what we remember happening? What we think, what we remember, drives humans/citizens/presidents to revolt/honor/kill/lead and thus cannot be discounted. This book makes an excellent effort at showing glimpses of that dichotomy.
April 19, 2025
Tremendo libro. Acá entendí todo y terminé por hacerme peronista.
October 11, 2024
Da vergüenza ver al autor arrastrarse con tanto odio
January 18, 2016
Phew, this took me MONTHS to get through.
Very hard to rate/review because, it was excellent, but very complex.
It was certainly NOT a page-turner.
I'd get exhausted at night after ten pages. And then when I was getting comfortable with the flow, it'd jump to a whole new persons perspective which I'd have to try and wrap my head around. I'd sometimes wonder if I'm just not intelligent enough to follow such novels? Then I'd remember I am brilliant, and slog on - if I can't wade my way through such sparkling prose, no-one can :-P
Beautiful, hard, but rewarding.
(I also had to read this first as I have his much-acclaimed "Santa Evita" to follow on my to-read shelf).
(No, that's not a Christmas novel).
Very hard to rate/review because, it was excellent, but very complex.
It was certainly NOT a page-turner.
I'd get exhausted at night after ten pages. And then when I was getting comfortable with the flow, it'd jump to a whole new persons perspective which I'd have to try and wrap my head around. I'd sometimes wonder if I'm just not intelligent enough to follow such novels? Then I'd remember I am brilliant, and slog on - if I can't wade my way through such sparkling prose, no-one can :-P
Beautiful, hard, but rewarding.
(I also had to read this first as I have his much-acclaimed "Santa Evita" to follow on my to-read shelf).
(No, that's not a Christmas novel).
May 9, 2010
La verdad que este libro no me gustó nada. Lo compré con mucha expectativa, porque me gusta el género que se ha dado en llamar "novela histórica", y también había escuchado el renombre del recientemente fallecido Tomás Eloy Martínez. Pero fue una decepción. Sobre todo las cosas que cuenta sobre Evita, que la plantea casi como una pobre demente sin el menor sentido de la realidad. O sea, se puede jugar con los personajes, pero en todo caso no me gustó en la forma en la que juega esta autor. Mi descripción final: Malo
September 16, 2020
Quizá mi error fue leer este libro sin saber casi nada de Perón, pero esta novela se me hizo increíblemente confusa. Creo entender que el autor quiso comunicar la desorientación causada por los cambios drásticos en la posición Peronista. Quizá esto hubiera funcionado con un lector ya familiar con los acontecimientos que Eloy Martínez describe, bajo múltiples y contra dicientes puntos de vista. Lamentablemente, para un lector curioso de todo lo que se habla de Perón, pero no familiarizado con los hechos históricos, la línea narrativa de esta novela es imposible de seguir.
September 17, 2009
Good book, got to read it again though. ;-)
October 16, 2024
Libro interesante si te gusta la historia y el peronismo, en ocasiones la lectura se torna un poco confusa, pero igual se puede disfrutar y tiene muy buenos capítulos.
September 17, 2025
Las distintas aristas de un movimiento social que marcó un clivaje en la política Americana y la personalidad detrás de todo ello. Las diferentes facetas de un personaje aclamado y odiado casi con la misma intensidad (si algo no causó Perón fue indiferencia).
Ahora, un general ya viejo, vetusto, impotente, conductible. Un personaje que se sabía histórico y, por así saberlo, solo le preocupaba (y mucho) la redacción de sus memorias.
Verdaderamente, una NOVELA HISTÓRICA.
La narración resulta difícil de masticar, pero destaco dos recursos:
- El relato de la mosca como subjetividad fragmentada (cada ojo ve mil versiones).
- El manejo del "Brujo" sobre el personaje de Perón que trae: La tensión materialidad/misticismo, Historia/Novela, vivencias/memorias. También, el Dios revelado al individuo o Dios revelado al pueblo. El final no tiene desperdicio.
Ahora, un general ya viejo, vetusto, impotente, conductible. Un personaje que se sabía histórico y, por así saberlo, solo le preocupaba (y mucho) la redacción de sus memorias.
Verdaderamente, una NOVELA HISTÓRICA.
La narración resulta difícil de masticar, pero destaco dos recursos:
- El relato de la mosca como subjetividad fragmentada (cada ojo ve mil versiones).
- El manejo del "Brujo" sobre el personaje de Perón que trae: La tensión materialidad/misticismo, Historia/Novela, vivencias/memorias. También, el Dios revelado al individuo o Dios revelado al pueblo. El final no tiene desperdicio.
November 15, 2018
Lo había leído hace más de 30 años y me había encantado, por eso decidí releerlo. Pero ahora me resultó pesado y tuve que hacer un esfuerzo por terminarlo. Tal vez porque me faltaba la curiosidad de la primera vez. De todos modos es interesante para entender la figura de Perón (aunque esté ficcionalizado está basado en documentos y hechos reales) y sobre todo los conflictos entre la izquierda y la derecha dentro del mismo movimiento peronista.
August 30, 2024
Tomas Eloy Martinez nos presenta una novela-biografia sobre Juan Domingo Perón, tomando elementos de su infancia, paso por el Colegio Militar, sus primeras incursiones en politica, su exilio y posterior vuelta a Argentina
Los elementos biograficos mencionados, se van conjugando con personajes historicos y ficticios que permiten darle vida al relato, sin embargo también confunde para quienes no estamos tan interiorizados en la historia argentina, si en algunos momentos el personaje es real o no, sin restarle meritos al autor de la caracterización de algunos como Lopez Rega, Isabelita o Generales coetáneos.
Hay capítulos muy bien logrados, donde se demuestra que el Autor realizó una gran investigación historica sumado a las entrevistas que realiza a Perón, me quedo con sus inicios en el colegio militar y el retrato de su vejez en el exilio.
Respecto al final, si bien la idea de conjugar personajes reales y ficticios entrelazados al mismo tiempo mientras aterriza el avión es una buena idea, me parece que la ejecución no se logra del todo al dedicar dos capitulos enteros a dicho final, el epilogo por el contrario si obtiene el cometido de cerrar bien la novela biografica.
Los elementos biograficos mencionados, se van conjugando con personajes historicos y ficticios que permiten darle vida al relato, sin embargo también confunde para quienes no estamos tan interiorizados en la historia argentina, si en algunos momentos el personaje es real o no, sin restarle meritos al autor de la caracterización de algunos como Lopez Rega, Isabelita o Generales coetáneos.
Hay capítulos muy bien logrados, donde se demuestra que el Autor realizó una gran investigación historica sumado a las entrevistas que realiza a Perón, me quedo con sus inicios en el colegio militar y el retrato de su vejez en el exilio.
Respecto al final, si bien la idea de conjugar personajes reales y ficticios entrelazados al mismo tiempo mientras aterriza el avión es una buena idea, me parece que la ejecución no se logra del todo al dedicar dos capitulos enteros a dicho final, el epilogo por el contrario si obtiene el cometido de cerrar bien la novela biografica.
July 16, 2023
Tal como mencioné al terminar de leer "El vuelo de la reina", tenía ganas de leer un par de buenos libros de TEM, y la elección ha estado a la altura de mis expectativas.
Muy interesante el mar de detalles entregado en esta biografía novelada.
Disfruté mucho y esperaré un par de meses antes de leer su versión de Evita.
Muy interesante el mar de detalles entregado en esta biografía novelada.
Disfruté mucho y esperaré un par de meses antes de leer su versión de Evita.
February 4, 2024
A través del relato de algunos sucesos importantes en la vida de Perón, el autor logra hundirse en las profundidades de su personalidad y de su relación con los argentinos. Novela imprescidnible para entender de mejor forma a Argentina o, si se prefiere, para convencerse de que no se puede entender.
November 8, 2017
Es unA novela histórica., simplemente. La lei sin esperar más que eso. De esa forma me pareció aceptable. Hay que tener en cuenta que es uno de los personajes más polémicos de la historía latinoamericana. Y el fenómeno del Perónismo es absolutamente singular. Recomendable.
March 29, 2023
Me ha gustado mucho pero recomendaría para los que no conozcan bien la historia de Perón, que se docuementen algo para que no resulte confusa la lectura de la novela y los hechos que narra. Dado que hay muchos saltos en el tiempo y el personaje es bien complejo.
November 16, 2018
Perón is an easy literary target. Tomás takes it on well. The most captivating texts I have read on the myth, the man, the milico himself; Johnny Sunday.
April 27, 2020
No pude terminar de leerlo. Muy pesado para mi gusto.
March 30, 2022
Y sí, es una obra tremenda sin embargo hay pasajes que sobran, a mi parecer.
Comienza muy bien pero poco a poco decae el interés.
Comienza muy bien pero poco a poco decae el interés.
February 27, 2023
If you’ve enjoyed “Argentina, 1985” this is a necessary stop on how Argentina lost its way.
July 5, 2023
Imprescindible para quienes quieran desentrañar parte de la historia argentina. Fascinante, real, cruda y llena de pasiones.
August 21, 2023
Perón, ese hombre que de no haber existido habría inventado Tomás Eloy Martínez.
July 4, 2024
Impecable. Sin ser peronista, terminás empatizando con el viejo líder de masas. Hermoso y nostálgico.
February 3, 2025
Novelón. Muy loco leer pensar y hablar a Perón a través de otra persona. Hay que ser atrevido
March 18, 2025
Es una genialidad además como lo narra nanana efectivamente es justicia social (no queremos a López Rega).
November 5, 2025
good insight into the nation’s insanity before travelling to argentina
November 21, 2016
Started out quite slowly, picked up pace, so that I didn't want to put it down, and then kind of petered out in the end.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews