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The News from Paraguay
The year is l854. In Paris, Francisco Solano -- the future dictator of Paraguay -- begins his courtship of the young, beautiful Irish courtesan Ella Lynch with a poncho, a Paraguayan band, and a horse named Mathilde. Ella follows Franco to Asunción and reigns there as his mistress. Isolated and estranged in this new world, she embraces her lover's ill-fated imperial dream -- one fueled by a heedless arrogance that will devastate all of Paraguay.
With the urgency of the narrative, rich and intimate detail, and a wealth of skillfully layered characters, The News from Paraguay recalls the epic novels of Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa.
With the urgency of the narrative, rich and intimate detail, and a wealth of skillfully layered characters, The News from Paraguay recalls the epic novels of Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa.
248 pages, Paperback
First published May 4, 2004
65 people are currently reading
2032 people want to read
About the author
Lily Tuck
25 books141 followersLily Tuck is an American novelist and short story writer whose novel The News from Paraguay won the 2004 National Book Award for Fiction. Her novel Siam was nominated for the 2000 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. She has published four other novels, a collection of short stories, and a biography of Italian novelist Elsa Morante (see "Works" below).
An American citizen born in Paris, Tuck now divides her time between New York City and Maine; she has also lived in Thailand and (during her childhood) Uruguay and Peru. Tuck has stated that "living in other countries has given me a different perspective as a writer. It has heightened my sense of dislocation and rootlessness. ... I think this feeling is reflected in my characters, most of them women whose lives are changed by either a physical displacement or a loss of some kind".
An American citizen born in Paris, Tuck now divides her time between New York City and Maine; she has also lived in Thailand and (during her childhood) Uruguay and Peru. Tuck has stated that "living in other countries has given me a different perspective as a writer. It has heightened my sense of dislocation and rootlessness. ... I think this feeling is reflected in my characters, most of them women whose lives are changed by either a physical displacement or a loss of some kind".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 311 reviews
December 11, 2017
Today I played the role of nurse to an almost seven year old who stayed home from school with a cold. In search of easy reading, I pulled The News from Paraguay from my library pile. The 2004 National Book Award winner, Parisian born Lily Tuck had been the author of three previous historical fiction novels, all set in 19th century France. Set in revolutionary Paraguay, this novel centered around the illicit relationship between Paraguayan president Francisco Solano Lopez and his lover Ella Lynch piqued my interest. In the end, the book became a fast reading story that I was able to finish over the course of a school day.
Nineteen year old Ella formerly Eliza Lynch had relocated from Ireland to Paris. While hobnobbing with the upper classes of the city, she caught the attention of one Franco Lopez, the son of the Paraguayan president who had come to Paris to study the city in the hopes of duplicating Europe's finest in his own capital city. After a short courtship with Ella, he convinces her to return to Paraguay with him, installing her as his permanent lover in her own countryside mansion. As the courtship lasted all of a few pages followed by the ocean journey to South America, there is little left to the imagination in how a distinguished aristocrat could be smitten with a common Parisian. Perhaps, this is Tuck's Eurocentric bias in play, or perhaps it is because in the 19th century, Paris really was the center of the civilization which all the world had hoped to emulate. In a flash, Ella leaves behind this environment and journeys to Asuncion where she will forever be known as President Lopez' lover and the mother of his illegitimate children.
Over the next fourteen years, Franco Lopez' father succumbs to illness and he succeeds him as the young nation's president. This is not the era of South American solidarity that North Americans are familiar with. Paraguay had just won independence from Spain on May 25, 1810, and now the young nation is embroiled with her neighbors Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay for territorial rights. Between 1954 and 1868, the years Ella lived in the country, Paraguay was always at war or threatening war against her neighbors. Lopez' reign as president resembled that of the caudillo dictator that I am more familiar with. Ruling with an iron fist, Lopez had everyone in the country including his own family members banished, disposed of, or killed, and attempted to sustain war for as long as possible.
As this book won the National Book Award and Goodreads notes in its description that it would be enjoyable for fans of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mario Vargas Llosa, I kept waiting for the prose to improve. Unfortunately, other than details about Paraguay's flora and fauna as well as a whos who of her friends and enemies, Tuck's writing is not on par with the other award winners that I have read. And it is certainly not at the level of the Nobel Laureates listed above, containing no magical realism or creativity. What Tuck did is attempt to do too much by switching the point of view between many characters and having Ella write letters to her friend Princess Mathilde in Paris as well as in her diary. With the novel centering on Paraguay's constant state of war at a time when the country attempted to modernize to rival Europe, Tuck's Eurocentric bias stands out again, doing little to develop Ella's character which on the surface she seemed to care a great deal about.
The News from Paraguay ended up being a mindless reading book that I needed as my obligations could not focus entirely on this book. As I have studied South America, this book provided little new information for me, and I would have preferred a nonfiction book about the same time period. Yet, this historical fiction may be entertaining for those who know little about the time or region as well as those more interested in a romance than historical background. I am left wondering how this book won its year's National Book Award, other than perhaps the voters were swayed by a refined female character and her letter writing abilities. I am hoping that as the year winds to a close, that my next read is better.
2.5 stars
Nineteen year old Ella formerly Eliza Lynch had relocated from Ireland to Paris. While hobnobbing with the upper classes of the city, she caught the attention of one Franco Lopez, the son of the Paraguayan president who had come to Paris to study the city in the hopes of duplicating Europe's finest in his own capital city. After a short courtship with Ella, he convinces her to return to Paraguay with him, installing her as his permanent lover in her own countryside mansion. As the courtship lasted all of a few pages followed by the ocean journey to South America, there is little left to the imagination in how a distinguished aristocrat could be smitten with a common Parisian. Perhaps, this is Tuck's Eurocentric bias in play, or perhaps it is because in the 19th century, Paris really was the center of the civilization which all the world had hoped to emulate. In a flash, Ella leaves behind this environment and journeys to Asuncion where she will forever be known as President Lopez' lover and the mother of his illegitimate children.
Over the next fourteen years, Franco Lopez' father succumbs to illness and he succeeds him as the young nation's president. This is not the era of South American solidarity that North Americans are familiar with. Paraguay had just won independence from Spain on May 25, 1810, and now the young nation is embroiled with her neighbors Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay for territorial rights. Between 1954 and 1868, the years Ella lived in the country, Paraguay was always at war or threatening war against her neighbors. Lopez' reign as president resembled that of the caudillo dictator that I am more familiar with. Ruling with an iron fist, Lopez had everyone in the country including his own family members banished, disposed of, or killed, and attempted to sustain war for as long as possible.
As this book won the National Book Award and Goodreads notes in its description that it would be enjoyable for fans of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mario Vargas Llosa, I kept waiting for the prose to improve. Unfortunately, other than details about Paraguay's flora and fauna as well as a whos who of her friends and enemies, Tuck's writing is not on par with the other award winners that I have read. And it is certainly not at the level of the Nobel Laureates listed above, containing no magical realism or creativity. What Tuck did is attempt to do too much by switching the point of view between many characters and having Ella write letters to her friend Princess Mathilde in Paris as well as in her diary. With the novel centering on Paraguay's constant state of war at a time when the country attempted to modernize to rival Europe, Tuck's Eurocentric bias stands out again, doing little to develop Ella's character which on the surface she seemed to care a great deal about.
The News from Paraguay ended up being a mindless reading book that I needed as my obligations could not focus entirely on this book. As I have studied South America, this book provided little new information for me, and I would have preferred a nonfiction book about the same time period. Yet, this historical fiction may be entertaining for those who know little about the time or region as well as those more interested in a romance than historical background. I am left wondering how this book won its year's National Book Award, other than perhaps the voters were swayed by a refined female character and her letter writing abilities. I am hoping that as the year winds to a close, that my next read is better.
2.5 stars
October 20, 2012
I opened this book without having read a single review, armed solely with the knowledge that it had won the National Book Award. I wish I had been armed with a paper shredder. For such a rich and potentially captivating topic, Tuck did a horrendous job. The life of the beautiful Ella Lynch, mistress South America's most enigmatic and charismatic tyrant, should have provided us with cultural and personal insights beyond a standard history text book. For example, I would have liked to have finished this book with an understanding of how Francisco Solano Lopez managed to inspire 60% to 80% (depending on your source) of his country's inhabitants to die in a war which had absolutely no rationale. Instead, I got a good solid dose of the Latin Lover.
Tuck did her research, but not to a greater degree than any high school student. At no point in the story did I gain an understanding of the causes of the war, or of the unique political and social position held by Paraguay in South America at that time. Not only did Tuck miss the broader context--the political rivalry between Argentina and Brazil, the constant power vacillations of post-independence South America, the struggle to establish national identities--she completely failed to establish the character of Paraguay and Paraguayans. This is as unforgivable in a historical novel as failing to develop the characters (a feat which Tuck also manages to accomplish!).
Not only did Tuck do a slap dab job with South American history, her writing was consistently poor. Long botanical lists which had no relevance to the plot (what little there was), letters, diary entries, which were all meant to provide the reader with verisimilitude, merely slowed down the prose. Short,almost cartoonish, sexual encounters between undeveloped characters, one-paragraph vignettes, strange graphic violence, all gave a disjointed quality to the prose which made it tempting to skip paragraphs, if not whole pages.
Last, but not least, the author clearly does not speak Spanish. This wouldn't have been a problem had she employed the services of a native speaker to check her error-ridden manuscript. (And where, pray tell, was her editor?)It was highly irritating to wade through grammar mistakes that a first-year Spanish student could have caught and corrected.
All in all, a highly disappointing read.
Tuck did her research, but not to a greater degree than any high school student. At no point in the story did I gain an understanding of the causes of the war, or of the unique political and social position held by Paraguay in South America at that time. Not only did Tuck miss the broader context--the political rivalry between Argentina and Brazil, the constant power vacillations of post-independence South America, the struggle to establish national identities--she completely failed to establish the character of Paraguay and Paraguayans. This is as unforgivable in a historical novel as failing to develop the characters (a feat which Tuck also manages to accomplish!).
Not only did Tuck do a slap dab job with South American history, her writing was consistently poor. Long botanical lists which had no relevance to the plot (what little there was), letters, diary entries, which were all meant to provide the reader with verisimilitude, merely slowed down the prose. Short,almost cartoonish, sexual encounters between undeveloped characters, one-paragraph vignettes, strange graphic violence, all gave a disjointed quality to the prose which made it tempting to skip paragraphs, if not whole pages.
Last, but not least, the author clearly does not speak Spanish. This wouldn't have been a problem had she employed the services of a native speaker to check her error-ridden manuscript. (And where, pray tell, was her editor?)It was highly irritating to wade through grammar mistakes that a first-year Spanish student could have caught and corrected.
All in all, a highly disappointing read.
June 30, 2021
Protagonist Eliza (Ella) Lynch is an Irishwoman living in Paris in 1854 when she meets and becomes the mistress of Francisco (Franco) Solano López. She and Franco travel by sea to his homeland in Paraguay, where he eventually becomes dictator, and leads the country into war with neighboring Brazil and Argentina. The book follows her privileged existence, motherhood, and how her life is impacted by Franco’s warmongering.
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the positive side, I feel I learned a great deal about Paraguay of the 1850s-1870s. The two main characters are believable. The descriptions of the local flora and fauna are vividly portrayed. On the negative side, there are just too many people in this book, and it is almost impossible to keep track of them all. It flits from one scene to another rather abruptly, so it does not have a pleasing flow. It recounts history in the form of “this happened and then that happened” rather than weaving the events together into a more entertaining story.
Ella and Franco were real people, but the author emphasizes that this is a work of historical fiction. It is based upon facts, but a substantial amount is imagined. I can say I liked it and I am glad to have read it, but I am also rather glad to be finished. I will seek out more reading material about Paraguay, as it has a rich history of which I was previously unaware.
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the positive side, I feel I learned a great deal about Paraguay of the 1850s-1870s. The two main characters are believable. The descriptions of the local flora and fauna are vividly portrayed. On the negative side, there are just too many people in this book, and it is almost impossible to keep track of them all. It flits from one scene to another rather abruptly, so it does not have a pleasing flow. It recounts history in the form of “this happened and then that happened” rather than weaving the events together into a more entertaining story.
Ella and Franco were real people, but the author emphasizes that this is a work of historical fiction. It is based upon facts, but a substantial amount is imagined. I can say I liked it and I am glad to have read it, but I am also rather glad to be finished. I will seek out more reading material about Paraguay, as it has a rich history of which I was previously unaware.
October 29, 2025
An Unsuccessful Historical Novel
There is always a tension in reading a historical novel between the "history" and the "fiction". In her author's note, to her National Book Award novel, "The News from Paraguay", Lily Tuck acknowledges this tension and attempts to resolve it by saying: "Nouns always trump adjectives, and in the phrase 'historical fiction' it is important to remember which of the two words is which." This resolution is not always appealing in novels set in a period with which the reader is familiar. It is tempting in these cases to focus on possible historical errors or on anachronistic writing. Because it is set primarily in Paraguay in the mid-nineteenth century, Tuck's novel will not bring to bear much background knowledge from most American readers. The book thus needs to be read more as literature than as a historical account. I reluctantly reminded myself that an important question, but not always the sole question, in responding to a book of fiction is: "does it work as a novel?". In Tuck's case, I had little doubt of the answer. The book failed for me.
The two primary characters in the book are Franco Lopez, (1827-1870), a dictator in Paraguay and his mistress Eliza (Ella) Lynch (1835 --1886). The novel is in part a story of the relationship between Franco and Ella and in part a story of Franco's disastrous rule as he led Paraguay into a long, brutal war with Argentina, Brazil, and Uraguay which devastated his country. The story begins in Paris when Ella, a young divorcee, is the kept woman of a Russian aristocrat. Franco is an emissary on behalf of his father to Napoleon III and he persuades Ella and her retinue to cross the ocean to Paraguay with promises of a large palace and great wealth. The couple have five children. Franco's stubborn autocratic traits become increasingly evident as the book proceeds and as he assumes power upon the death of his father. The reasons which led him to war are not fully developed in the book. But much emphasis is given to the folly of the struggle and to its cost to Paraguay in terms of life and treasure.
Although short, the novel makes for slow, tedious reading. Part of the problem is the narrative style which is modernistic but I thought inappropriate for the book. The story is told in a variety of voices and largely from Ella's perspective. The shifts in perspective and voicing serve little purpose and make the book hard to follow. The chapters are of varying length, mostly short, and they tend to move out of chronological order. The book is disjointed. I also thought the book suffered from the large group of characters that Tuck presents. Besides the two protagonists, many people wander in and out of the story, including Franco's and Ella's relatives and servants, diplomats from the United States, European advisors, leaders of the Alliance against Franco, natives of Paraguay, and more. Some characters appear in and out through the course of the book while others have smaller roles. It is difficult to keep track of all the people in a short space. The characters are largely undeveloped as well.
Franco and Ella are for the most part unsympathetically portrayed. This is not necessarily a fault in a novel, but Tuck's characterizations are largely undistinguished. The reader sees a great deal of both these individuals without getting to understand them on other than a superficial level.
Portions of the book are written in an elegant style, perhaps appropriate to life in mid-Nineteenth Century Paris and to Franco's aspirations, There are some exquisite, tiny details in the story such as the fondness of Paraguayans for their cigars, descriptions of jewels, plants, parrots, and other animals. The stylization which may be meant ironically is mannered and works against the book and its story. Some of the battle scenes in the book are well done as well, but the book does not move. On the whole, the book becomes better as it moves along, but it never recovers or gets much beyond tedium.
At a certain point in a person's reading life, it is valuable to trust one's responses and not persist in continuing to read a book that one dislikes. I regret that I am too often unable to follow my own advice in this matter. Although I persevered to the end, I didn't much enjoy or learn from this book. I tend to agree more with my fellow reader reviewers than, apparently, with the critics who found this book deserving of honor. I did not find reading this book a good use of time.
Robin Friedman
There is always a tension in reading a historical novel between the "history" and the "fiction". In her author's note, to her National Book Award novel, "The News from Paraguay", Lily Tuck acknowledges this tension and attempts to resolve it by saying: "Nouns always trump adjectives, and in the phrase 'historical fiction' it is important to remember which of the two words is which." This resolution is not always appealing in novels set in a period with which the reader is familiar. It is tempting in these cases to focus on possible historical errors or on anachronistic writing. Because it is set primarily in Paraguay in the mid-nineteenth century, Tuck's novel will not bring to bear much background knowledge from most American readers. The book thus needs to be read more as literature than as a historical account. I reluctantly reminded myself that an important question, but not always the sole question, in responding to a book of fiction is: "does it work as a novel?". In Tuck's case, I had little doubt of the answer. The book failed for me.
The two primary characters in the book are Franco Lopez, (1827-1870), a dictator in Paraguay and his mistress Eliza (Ella) Lynch (1835 --1886). The novel is in part a story of the relationship between Franco and Ella and in part a story of Franco's disastrous rule as he led Paraguay into a long, brutal war with Argentina, Brazil, and Uraguay which devastated his country. The story begins in Paris when Ella, a young divorcee, is the kept woman of a Russian aristocrat. Franco is an emissary on behalf of his father to Napoleon III and he persuades Ella and her retinue to cross the ocean to Paraguay with promises of a large palace and great wealth. The couple have five children. Franco's stubborn autocratic traits become increasingly evident as the book proceeds and as he assumes power upon the death of his father. The reasons which led him to war are not fully developed in the book. But much emphasis is given to the folly of the struggle and to its cost to Paraguay in terms of life and treasure.
Although short, the novel makes for slow, tedious reading. Part of the problem is the narrative style which is modernistic but I thought inappropriate for the book. The story is told in a variety of voices and largely from Ella's perspective. The shifts in perspective and voicing serve little purpose and make the book hard to follow. The chapters are of varying length, mostly short, and they tend to move out of chronological order. The book is disjointed. I also thought the book suffered from the large group of characters that Tuck presents. Besides the two protagonists, many people wander in and out of the story, including Franco's and Ella's relatives and servants, diplomats from the United States, European advisors, leaders of the Alliance against Franco, natives of Paraguay, and more. Some characters appear in and out through the course of the book while others have smaller roles. It is difficult to keep track of all the people in a short space. The characters are largely undeveloped as well.
Franco and Ella are for the most part unsympathetically portrayed. This is not necessarily a fault in a novel, but Tuck's characterizations are largely undistinguished. The reader sees a great deal of both these individuals without getting to understand them on other than a superficial level.
Portions of the book are written in an elegant style, perhaps appropriate to life in mid-Nineteenth Century Paris and to Franco's aspirations, There are some exquisite, tiny details in the story such as the fondness of Paraguayans for their cigars, descriptions of jewels, plants, parrots, and other animals. The stylization which may be meant ironically is mannered and works against the book and its story. Some of the battle scenes in the book are well done as well, but the book does not move. On the whole, the book becomes better as it moves along, but it never recovers or gets much beyond tedium.
At a certain point in a person's reading life, it is valuable to trust one's responses and not persist in continuing to read a book that one dislikes. I regret that I am too often unable to follow my own advice in this matter. Although I persevered to the end, I didn't much enjoy or learn from this book. I tend to agree more with my fellow reader reviewers than, apparently, with the critics who found this book deserving of honor. I did not find reading this book a good use of time.
Robin Friedman
July 19, 2007
Our book club chose this selection and prior to reading it, I glanced over the reviews posted on amazon.com. Based on the low ratings, I was ready for a slow and unsophisticated novel. I was very pleasantly surprised. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and especially appreciated the various perspectives from which the story was told. The book is composed of a series of vignettes and I thought rather than slow the story, it allowed the reader to understand these events in history and the motivations of each character from multiple perspectives. I found it a wonderful writing technique and one that kept me engaged.
By the end of the book, there were many characters I did not care for, including Ella Lynch. However, I appreciated the author's ability to highlight the multiple facets of their personalities, power struggles and internal conflicts. This is definitely a story that raises many questions about power, politics and human emotion. It leaves it up to the reader to determine how they feel about each.
By the end of the book, there were many characters I did not care for, including Ella Lynch. However, I appreciated the author's ability to highlight the multiple facets of their personalities, power struggles and internal conflicts. This is definitely a story that raises many questions about power, politics and human emotion. It leaves it up to the reader to determine how they feel about each.
November 4, 2016
At first I was intrigued by this book. The writing is descriptive and the details of life in Paris and South America at the end of the 19th century were interesting. The characters weren't very likable (a woman who has renamed and reinvented herself several times, who is selfish and oblivious, and a man who views women mostly as an avenue for sex), but it was still fairly compelling.
The man (Franco), a young, egotistical and somewhat cruel diplomat from Paraguay, pursues the woman (Ella), quickly winning her and taking her to Paraguay along with her beloved horse, her maid, and a Spanish woman to teach Ella the language. His plan is to remake Paraguay when his father dies and he rules. Based on real events with some fictional characters thrown in, the story charts the stupidity and pig-headedness of Franco as, unprovoked, he goes to war against his neighbor Brazil, conscripting first all the men he can find, then the boys, and finally the women and the girls. Pretty much everyone dies and there is passage after graphic passage detailing the tortures, the rapes, the starvation, and the madness that ensue. About half way through, I had to start skimming because it was all so repetitive and crass. I could see they were all going to die and I didn't need the details of each specific death, especially of the children. The only death I read with relish was the death of Franco. I'm glad I skimmed so much and I wish I'd started skimming earlier or had perhaps never opened the damn thing at all.
The man (Franco), a young, egotistical and somewhat cruel diplomat from Paraguay, pursues the woman (Ella), quickly winning her and taking her to Paraguay along with her beloved horse, her maid, and a Spanish woman to teach Ella the language. His plan is to remake Paraguay when his father dies and he rules. Based on real events with some fictional characters thrown in, the story charts the stupidity and pig-headedness of Franco as, unprovoked, he goes to war against his neighbor Brazil, conscripting first all the men he can find, then the boys, and finally the women and the girls. Pretty much everyone dies and there is passage after graphic passage detailing the tortures, the rapes, the starvation, and the madness that ensue. About half way through, I had to start skimming because it was all so repetitive and crass. I could see they were all going to die and I didn't need the details of each specific death, especially of the children. The only death I read with relish was the death of Franco. I'm glad I skimmed so much and I wish I'd started skimming earlier or had perhaps never opened the damn thing at all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2021
This was an ok book; I'd have liked to give it a better mark but it was so inconsistent and unsatisfying in some parts that I couldn't. Basically, this is an "historical novel/romance" that can't really decide what it is. There's not enough information to call it historical and very little romance. (Descriptions of oral sex don't count, nor do descriptions of sexual positions. I don't object to these at all but it's a little cold and doesn't really add to the story, sounding more like passages from a naughty high-school girl than a mature woman who's comfortable with the subject.) Parts of it were very moving but parts of it were filler for me and in the end, it was too much "neither one thing nor the other."
October 29, 2025
Then, with her bare hands, Ella began to cover their bodies with earth. She was halfway finished when…looking up…Ella saw a flight of parrots go by overhead. The parrots were so numerous hundreds, perhaps thousands-that for a few seconds the parrots mercifully blocked out the sun.
August 28, 2008
If you enjoy Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I bet you'll like this read. I do and I did. It's historical fiction with the author reminding us that the emphasis is on the noun in that description. Although I enjoyed the history aspect (too unbelievable to be fiction), I LOVED Tuck's ability to paint the clearest pictures of all of her characters. Every single person, from the leading man and woman down to the brothers in the army, comes to life with their mini-sagas. You understand them, even if you don't like them. And the ones you like, you LOVE. Like Ella, the heroine. She's a strong, beautiful, truly gifted woman who seizes every opportunity to her advantage. I found it impossible not to cheer her on as she blows (sometimes literally) Paraguay away as the President's mistress. Also, the author's wicked sense of humor keeps you laughing even in the most inappropriate circumstances (war, death, disease, unnecessary arm amputation with no pain relief, etc.)
With this book, I learned and I laughed. I also cried, which is the highest praise I can give any book. (If I care enough to be that emotional, spot on!)
With this book, I learned and I laughed. I also cried, which is the highest praise I can give any book. (If I care enough to be that emotional, spot on!)
Read
September 10, 2007Probably the worst book I read this year - and it won a prestigious book award and glowing reviews. How?! This author's idea of depicting culture in that part of South America is to mention all the mate people drink. Sere's a hint, mate is about as ubiquitous in that part of the world as Starbucks is in the US. So it's not a terribly clever technique. Also, her idea of character development is to go into TMI detail about the sexual proclivities and back histories of every single character. Again, not terrible clever and it still renders the people and situations (supposedly drawn from history) as two dimensional stick figures. Also, I don't really get the sense from her supporting notes that she actually ever went to Paraguay in doing research. Overall, a real disappointment to read right after I got back from being in that part of South America.
June 30, 2009
If I could rate this 3.5, I would. I had a hard time connecting with Lily Tuck's writing style--which is stunning throughout, but hit me like pelted stones somehow. One feels a bit flinchy reading this; characters are not developed on the page so much as they are "stamped." And yet, as I got to the end, I found that I cared deeply for what happened to them (tragedy, of course). I even flipped back and began immediately re-reading earlier parts. Perhaps having had no previous knowledge of the war in Paraguay in the 1850s, I was at a disadvantage as far as being immediately drawn in to the novel's story line and context. (Note: the character I came to care most about was a gray mare named Mathilde.)
August 14, 2009
Well... I finished the novel. I can't say that I enjoyed it, and I really hoped that I would. In college, I had read a lot of stories about Paraguay and the Guaraníes, so I had high hopes for this story.
Instead, what you get is a choppy novel filled with what could have been interesting characters but, since they weren't fully developed, they came across as very one dimensional. And, the violence and gore towards the end of the novel were a bit over-the-top for me, especially since I have a tendency to read while I'm having breakfast. It's not likely that I'll pick up another novel by Lily Tuck after slogging my way through this one.
Instead, what you get is a choppy novel filled with what could have been interesting characters but, since they weren't fully developed, they came across as very one dimensional. And, the violence and gore towards the end of the novel were a bit over-the-top for me, especially since I have a tendency to read while I'm having breakfast. It's not likely that I'll pick up another novel by Lily Tuck after slogging my way through this one.
January 17, 2019
I read this book as soon as I heard about it. I had recently returned from the Peace Corps in Paraguay and was immediately back in that country, with the weather and the history of the War of the Triple Alliance. This is the third time I've read it and I have, TBR, "Woman on Horseback," by William E. Barrett, about the same people and the same era. I've been there and seen it, and heard people talk about Madama Lynch and Francia and the Lopez family, so it's brilliantly THERE for me every time I read it.
February 21, 2021
As someone from Paraguay I can tell you that this book is awful!!! In the 250 pages there really was no actual plot. I have no idea how this book won an award. Also the description is wrong!! Francisco Solano Lopez was the second president of Paraguay but he was not a dictator. That's something that a quick google search could tell anyone.
The one thing that's true is that if you like Gabriel García Márquez you might like this book. I hated his books and this one as well.
The one thing that's true is that if you like Gabriel García Márquez you might like this book. I hated his books and this one as well.
October 4, 2009
I wanted to like this book. Paraguay has such a fascinating history that I was glad to see that someone had written a book of historical fiction about Francisco Solano Lopez and his Irish mistress Elisa Lynch. The style of the book is cut and paste – it mixes first person with third person, present with future, fiction with historical data. I could forgive the disjointed writing but found difficult to forgive the many passages aimed to make my stomach turn. It was impossible to forgive the many inaccuracies in the Spanish passages, Guaraní passages, and in details of Paraguayan culture (sopa Paraguaya is not mandioca soup). Would it have been so difficult to find a Paraguayan to fact check the manuscript?
August 20, 2012
I enjoyed this book and its relation to real events and places. It is unfortunate that there is not a map included to help the reader follow the action better. Paraguay has a unique geography and the author does a good job of describing it. The story presented here is tragic, as is the history, but a very interesting read.
January 16, 2009
This National Book Award Winner is historical fiction that takes place mostly in Paraguay, in the 1860's. The story mainly follows Ella Lynch, the young, beautiful Irish woman who comes home with the president's son after his trip to Europe. It is difficult to say whether or not Ella and Franco actually love each other, but they do stay together, though never marry, throughout the fifteen years that Ella is in Paraguay. During those fifteen years Ella gives birth to seven children, five of which live to be teenagers. Franco's father dies, giving him the opportunity to take control of the country and embroil it in a seemingly senseless war against the surrounding countries. Franco becomes a dictator, forcing his people to give up everything for his pointless war, becoming more and more paranoid, arresting and killing people for no reason. Ella continues to support him, more because she doesn't know what else to do, than because she actually believes in the cause. She considers leaving many times, but always stays, until the war has destroyed the entire country, killing almost all the men, including Franco himself.
I really enjoyed reading this book, although it wasn't necessarily due to the story. The book is written in a very interesting way - we are given brief glimpses of parts of the characters' lives, usually in short sections that are only a handful of paragraphs or less. This makes the story feel like it is moving very quickly. Tuck does not just focus on Ella and Franco, either, but gives us pictures of many of the other characters, major and minor, and leaves it up to the reader to make a whole story out of it. Her choices of what to show about each character are very deliberate - some of the characterizations seem rather shallow at first, but get deeper as we get more glimpses of them. This is one of those books that is more interesting to read for the way it is written, rather than for the story itself.
About the story - it is about real events, Ella and Franco did exist, as did many of the other characters in the book. I always find it fascinating to learn about history in this way, and also to learn about what came from history and what came from the mind of the author. In this case, events of the war are not particularly well documented, and many of the minor events were never documented. But the book is obviously well researched, and I think that Tuck does an excellent job of describing Paraguay during the 19th century. In the Author's Note she quotes a friend who says, "Nouns always trump adjectives, and in the phrase 'historical fiction' it is important to remember which of the two words is which."
I really enjoyed reading this book, although it wasn't necessarily due to the story. The book is written in a very interesting way - we are given brief glimpses of parts of the characters' lives, usually in short sections that are only a handful of paragraphs or less. This makes the story feel like it is moving very quickly. Tuck does not just focus on Ella and Franco, either, but gives us pictures of many of the other characters, major and minor, and leaves it up to the reader to make a whole story out of it. Her choices of what to show about each character are very deliberate - some of the characterizations seem rather shallow at first, but get deeper as we get more glimpses of them. This is one of those books that is more interesting to read for the way it is written, rather than for the story itself.
About the story - it is about real events, Ella and Franco did exist, as did many of the other characters in the book. I always find it fascinating to learn about history in this way, and also to learn about what came from history and what came from the mind of the author. In this case, events of the war are not particularly well documented, and many of the minor events were never documented. But the book is obviously well researched, and I think that Tuck does an excellent job of describing Paraguay during the 19th century. In the Author's Note she quotes a friend who says, "Nouns always trump adjectives, and in the phrase 'historical fiction' it is important to remember which of the two words is which."
July 1, 2012
I don't know a lot about Paraguayan history, and while The News from Paraguay is historical fiction, there is a lot to learn in this brief novel. I felt like the setting was captured well, and Lily Tuck incorporated actual journal articles from two historical figures. The time period covered is the 19th century, specifically the rise and fall of Francisco Solano López. Unfortunately his rise and fall is also Paraguay's rise and fall, since by the time he was done with his leadership of the country, only about 25% of the country survived, and most of the males were gone.
Paraguay has been in the news recently as the former president was removed from office. I learned in the reading I've been doing that the majority of Paraguay's presidents have been forcibly removed from office. This book may give some insight into the relationships Paraguay has with its bordering nations, how it is viewed by Europe and North America, as well as how its own population (native and immigrant) reacts to the constant change. So on a historical level, the book is didactic and interesting, despite the fact that the author has never been to the country.
From a writing standpoint, I can't say I enjoyed it as much. While the story is linear, it jumps around between situations and people, and although the story focuses on Ella, the Irish mistress of Franco and mother to many of his children, most of the stories are brief and not necessarily connected. I found the portrayal of some of the characters pretty unrealistic, and the mentions of sex awkward. I don't mind sex in a novel, but it usually serves to shed light on a relationship, and it was as if Lily Tuck wanted to keep the reader's interest by mentioning something about someone's 'member,' and yes, using that very term. I'd rather be interested by the story. I think it suffers from the focus on the outsider view, and would have been richer coming from the inside rather than the outside.
Paraguay has been in the news recently as the former president was removed from office. I learned in the reading I've been doing that the majority of Paraguay's presidents have been forcibly removed from office. This book may give some insight into the relationships Paraguay has with its bordering nations, how it is viewed by Europe and North America, as well as how its own population (native and immigrant) reacts to the constant change. So on a historical level, the book is didactic and interesting, despite the fact that the author has never been to the country.
From a writing standpoint, I can't say I enjoyed it as much. While the story is linear, it jumps around between situations and people, and although the story focuses on Ella, the Irish mistress of Franco and mother to many of his children, most of the stories are brief and not necessarily connected. I found the portrayal of some of the characters pretty unrealistic, and the mentions of sex awkward. I don't mind sex in a novel, but it usually serves to shed light on a relationship, and it was as if Lily Tuck wanted to keep the reader's interest by mentioning something about someone's 'member,' and yes, using that very term. I'd rather be interested by the story. I think it suffers from the focus on the outsider view, and would have been richer coming from the inside rather than the outside.
January 31, 2021
Oddly, I thought I would find this book annoying (based on a few reviews I read that ragged on the spoiled protagonist). However, the dire hot-mess of the plot had me riveted, and the matter-of-fact, fatalistic writing, the raw disregard for the value of human life, the emotionless diction was captivating. The book is packed with action; how interesting that fact rivals fiction in its sheer outrageousness - Tuck filled in the gaps but the story is based on actual events. And she packs all this into 245 pages - the writing is spare and beautiful. (It is bizarre to feel the need to defend a National Book Award winner.)
The character Ella Lynch is based on a real person who lives the most outrageous life. She and her family narrowly escape the famine in Ireland. She eventually becomes a courtesan in Paris and is friends w/ the upper echelons (counts and princesses). She meets Francisco Solano, a rich young man who is the son of the elected president of Paraguay, and they become lovers. She moves w/ him to Asuncion and becomes his mistress, having five children together but never marrying. Nothing seems to phase her; she seems to care more for her horse than for her living children.
Almost nothing has been written about this book; I read the following in Fanzine: "It should come as no surprise that the winner, Lily Tuck’s The News from Paraguay, was swiftly anointed one of the most disliked novels amongst readers to ever win the award. It’s also one the most forgotten." I guess you love it or you hate it. I believe those who find themselves on the hate-spectrum site the following: 1) Tuck never went to Paraguay; it is all a feat of the imagination 2) the characters are not lovable; if there is love/compassion/humanity between them, one will not find it in this book 3) the whys and wherefores of Paraguay's political situation are glossed over.
The character Ella Lynch is based on a real person who lives the most outrageous life. She and her family narrowly escape the famine in Ireland. She eventually becomes a courtesan in Paris and is friends w/ the upper echelons (counts and princesses). She meets Francisco Solano, a rich young man who is the son of the elected president of Paraguay, and they become lovers. She moves w/ him to Asuncion and becomes his mistress, having five children together but never marrying. Nothing seems to phase her; she seems to care more for her horse than for her living children.
Almost nothing has been written about this book; I read the following in Fanzine: "It should come as no surprise that the winner, Lily Tuck’s The News from Paraguay, was swiftly anointed one of the most disliked novels amongst readers to ever win the award. It’s also one the most forgotten." I guess you love it or you hate it. I believe those who find themselves on the hate-spectrum site the following: 1) Tuck never went to Paraguay; it is all a feat of the imagination 2) the characters are not lovable; if there is love/compassion/humanity between them, one will not find it in this book 3) the whys and wherefores of Paraguay's political situation are glossed over.
July 23, 2007
This book was loaned to me by someone who's taste in reading I respect, and the other night I was talking to my oldest friend in the world and she told me how much she loved the book, but it did nothing for me - except to make me wonder how such a poorly written story could get published. I think the two main problems I had with the book was the poor writing and jumping. When you have to go back over a sentence 2 or 3 times to understand what the writer is trying to say, then there's a problem. By jumping I mean the quick cuts from one scene to another - in each you get a small bit of information that the author then refers to later - as if there are amazing connections - except these bits that get referred to are mundane and have nothing to do with moving the story forward. Referencing to something one has previously written does not a connection make.
What else - ah yes, the sex scenes - not really sex scenes, just sex chunks really, that seemed to be there for shock effect more than anything else, except that they weren't really shocking.
The characters were pretty cardboard - which may have been an effect of the writing style - perhaps the same words pulled together in cohesive chapters without all the jumping about, might have produced more devoloped characters, but then again not. Who knows? All I know is I just wanted to be done with the damned thing so I could move on to something else. Why I felt obligated to finish it would be my problem.
What else - ah yes, the sex scenes - not really sex scenes, just sex chunks really, that seemed to be there for shock effect more than anything else, except that they weren't really shocking.
The characters were pretty cardboard - which may have been an effect of the writing style - perhaps the same words pulled together in cohesive chapters without all the jumping about, might have produced more devoloped characters, but then again not. Who knows? All I know is I just wanted to be done with the damned thing so I could move on to something else. Why I felt obligated to finish it would be my problem.
June 12, 2013
تكتب الفرنسية ليلي عن فترة مفصلية في تاريخ الباراغواي في القرن التاسع العشر. و قد اختارت الكاتبة التي عاشت طفولتها هناك أن تسرد الأحداث عبر يوميات الايرلندية إيلا عشيقة الديكتاتور فرانكو سولانو لوبيز- إذا ماتذكرنا فرانكو اسبانيا يمكن التخوف من هذا الاسم - و الذي خطب ودها في إقامته بباريس بلد الجمال و الموضة عبر شراء مهرة أصيلة أسمتها ماتيلدا تيمناً بإحدى الأميرات. يعود فرانكو للباراغوي بصحبة إيلا و يتم رفضها من الأسرة المالكة كما هو الحال بالنسبة للأوساط الدينية و لكن فرانكو على أية حال لا يتوقف عن إحبالها واعداً إياها أن يصنع باريس أخرى و عند وفاة والد فرانكو الذي عُرفت عنه القسوة اللانهائية يتولى مقاليد الحكم ليدس أنفه في شؤون القارة اللاتينية و فرانكو أحد مهووسي نابليون بالمناسبة - و يزج بلده بحرب مع البرازيل و ذلك دفاعاً عن حليفه في الأورغواي الذي يسقط فيما بعد لتشكل البرازيل و الأرجنتين و الأورغواي حزب تحالف ثلاثي و تشن الحرب على فرانكو الذي أعماه جنون العظمة و الرغبة في تقليد بطولات المحرر العظيم بوليفار فتقضي على خيرات البلد الغني المتخم بالثروات الطبيعية و تطارد فرانكو الذي يصمد نسبياً بمساعدة النبيذ حيث لم يجرب سوى الشق الثاني من الحرب ( الفر ) و ينتهي الأمر بمقتله و تسليم الباراغواي للهاوية. رواية ممتعة متعددة الأصوات الروائية للوقوف بين الملل و بين القارئ.
December 15, 2025
It is so disappointing to read the rare novel set in Paraguay only to quickly realize that the author is exploiting North American/European ignorance of the country and hasn’t made the effort to get the details right. She can hide behind her statement in the afterword that it is historical FICTION but that doesn’t excuse such inaccuracies as describing sopa paraguaya as “manioc soup!” (Clearly the author never visited Paraguay or had a Paraguayan check for errors!)
This book isn’t a good novel and it isn’t good history. It reads more like a history textbook than a novel except for the abrupt strange little descriptions of sex and random graphic violence thrown in. I’m shocked it won the National Book Award in 2004. Did North American readers think its subject matter incredibly original‽
This book isn’t a good novel and it isn’t good history. It reads more like a history textbook than a novel except for the abrupt strange little descriptions of sex and random graphic violence thrown in. I’m shocked it won the National Book Award in 2004. Did North American readers think its subject matter incredibly original‽
August 7, 2009
This novel is based on actual happenings, so it's harder to take in than if it had all been fiction. An Irish woman, divorced in Paris, meets a Paraguayan man and returns to that country with him, has his children, and aids him in his ambitions to lead the country after his father's death. The incredible cruelty of so many characters is almost unbelievable. The narration is too rote to make the characters come alive, but I kept reading just the learn the outcome. I don't recommend this one! I gave it 2 stars for educating me on the history of Paraguay.
April 22, 2010
I could go on for days about this book... Probably the most beautifully written fiction story I've read in the past few months. I had to put it down at one point, because I had gotten sick, and the medication I was taking made me dizzy when I started to read. After I healed up and was done with my meds, I picked this right back up, and was thrown into a fictitious story, based around actual events and characters. Tuck should become my mentor, because I wish I could write like her. Just in the way she tells a story you cannot look away.
AMAZING.
AMAZING.
April 2, 2019
Set in the mid 19th century, 'The News from Paraguay' is a thoroughly absorbing reimaging of the marriage between Paraguayan president Franco Lopez and his Irish wife, Ella Lynch. Initially the story of Lopez's drive to emulate more progressive European countries, the novel then chronicles Paraguay's ill-fated dispute with the Triple Allianz of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Cutting a path through the historical jungle of facts, Tuck maintains a breezy pace by using Ella's letters and painting thumbnail sketches of the wildlife, people and culture. 4.5 stars
October 1, 2014
This historical novel takes place in Paraguay in the mid 1800’s a time and place I know nothing about. Ella Lynch an Irishwoman meets Francisco Solano Lopez "Franco”, a dictator from Paraguay, while he is visiting France. She is wooed by him and his grandiose talk of how he will make Asunción as grand as Paris. Tuck paints a vivid picture of Paraguay, from the beauty of the country and to the brutality of the dictatorship and war.
May 22, 2021
This was what I wanted to do with my staycation - read books and not move from my new and oh-so-comfy couch.
I got 1.5 days of that, and this magnificent book, which I've been carrying with me from Montreal to Cambridge to Hitchin. Well worth it. Pick it up if you're looking for a female-focused historical fiction novel on a little-known Latin American dictator in the 1840s. Seriously.
I got 1.5 days of that, and this magnificent book, which I've been carrying with me from Montreal to Cambridge to Hitchin. Well worth it. Pick it up if you're looking for a female-focused historical fiction novel on a little-known Latin American dictator in the 1840s. Seriously.
June 19, 2009
Okay, I didn't actually finish this book. I disliked it from the start, and my dislike just kept increasing to the point where I realized I needed to stop reading. So much for National Book Award winners....
October 16, 2020
Exquisite read. This is one of those books that elevates my understanding of our language. Beautiful, subtle, episodic...I had to look up the real Ella Lynch after reading this because I found her so fascinating.
August 30, 2008
Great read, and though fiction, you can learn about South American history
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