Clandestine in Chile: The Adventures of Miguel Littin (New York Review Books Classics)

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, famous for his books, 'A Hundred Years of Solitude' and 'Love in the time of Cholera' puts on his journalistic hat again, and produced this summary of 18 hours of interview with Miguel Littín, a famous Chilean film director who had returned to Chile during Pinochet's regime of terror to film the condition of the country and the effects on the people. Miguel Littín had fled Chile after Pinochet toppled Allende in the coup and remained in exile, being on Pinochet's list of 5000 people forbidden to enter the country.Littín spent 6 weeks in Chile disguised as a Uruguayan businessman. Precise and detailed planning with 3 European film crews who were unaware of each other for security, filming different sections of Chile, was necessary and made possible only with the assistance of the underground resistance. In order to escape detection, Littín had to stay in character the entire time he was in Chile, keep an eye out for the carabineros paying attention to him, avoid calling on friends and family, make sure his teams were kept safe, the film footage smuggled out of Chile into Italy, and that they all get out before the game was up.His adventures were very cloak and dagger, meetings were a series of complicated passwords and his guardian angel was clearly working overtime because he had some incredible luck in getting out of more than a few potential dangerous situations where his disguise could have been uncovered.

This was a real surprise for me. It's very fast paced and gives a feel for the claustrophobic environment of Chile during the time. I have no idea how much this matched Littin's real experiences, but it's a fascinating story and I think it does give a glimpse of Chile during those times.

Clandestine in Chile tells the story of Miguel Littin, a filmmaker who travels to Chile in disguise after being exiled. Miguel and his film crews document the human rights abuses in Chile under Pinochet and interview the victims of the regime's violence. The story is fast paced and provides a look at how much the Chilean people suffered under Pinochet (which I knew little about before reading this work). I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Latin American history or anyone who just wants a fast paced, interesting read.

Reads like a spy novel, but true story. Read in three sittings. Rare for me. On time delivery, great condition.

Meet my expectation

Excellent book for anyone interested in the other 9/11 in Chile. The Allende/Pinochet era

Disappointing. I didn't have expectations except to learn something worth remembering and being entertained. I did not learn anything and was not really interested. I might have enjoyed it more in Spanish.

Boring.

Very interesting

I loved this book - 'Gabo' is a master storyteller whether it be fiction of fact or a melding of each. The book itself was delivered promptly and in really good condition.

Quite disappointing considering the author's reputation as a great writer of fiction. It's a slight work of non-fiction which is neither very interesting nor very informative.

This is a rather nondescript book..The narrative is flat and the story is more "carry on" comedy than gripping thriller..l just did not care and it was totally uninvolving