Asad Ismi: review of 'One Day of Life'

Manlio Argueta, One Day of Life (Translated from the Spanish), Vintage, 1983, $16.95.
(Book Review)

Argueta's tale of incredible suffering and enormous determination is a masterpiece. Told by the women of the Guardado family who live in the small rural town of Chalate, the novel carries us into the heart of El Salvador's civil war. Here, the state and the army with all their power and extreme repression cannot break the will of one poor family.

Using simple, clear, direct and riveting prose, Argueta takes us into the minds of the Guardado women, especially Grandmother Lupe, the main narrator. We live their fears, hopes and dreams and feel the fragility of their existence. They are horrendously exploited and almost destitute. Yet, with minimal resources, they fight back against overwhelming odds. The Guardados are no mere victims but the agents of their destiny. Starved, massacred, tortured, disappeared, but still resistant. As Grandfather Jose puts it, "the problem lies in our awareness. The awareness we will have. Then life will become as clear as spring water...The problems can't be solved by a single person but only by all of us working together, the humble. The clearheaded ones."

Enormous affection binds the Guardados and fires their resistance. It is in almost every sentence of the parents and children--a level of concern and caring that captures the essence of life. The affection extends to the community and there is understanding even for the soldiers who make war on the family. The loss of loved ones strengthens the women further. As Grandmother Lupe says, "they will have to kill all of us."

On the other side is a ruthless army trained and financed by the United States that massacres at will. An army whose soldiers come from poor communities like Chalate. In brilliant passages, Argueta takes us into the mind of an officer being trained by the U.S. Special Forces. Also from a rural background, he comes to hate himself and his people. In exchange for the privileges of his position, he is ready to (as he says) "defend the country against its enemies even at the expense of our own brothers. And even at the expense of our mother."

Women are central on both sides of the conflict. They hold the Guardados together in the face of ferocious violence, and for the officer they are "whores" responsible for the "misery in this country...because...they don't waste any time in having children." From self-hatred and misogyny come murder and repression.

Argueta explains the officer's attitude by taking us through the labyrinth of mental justification so that we understand how the mind of a killer works. Similarly, we learn about the Guardados by entering their minds. It is this closeness to all his characters that makes Argueta's writing powerful. His intimate knowledge of them makes you forget that they are characters. In this way, One Day of life transcends the novel form and becomes an incomparable literary document of horror and courage.

Published in Democratic Left, Spring 1999.


	ONE DAY OF LIFE

Manlio Argueta, One Day of Life (Translated from the Spanish), Vintage, 1983, $16.95. (Book Review) Argueta's tale of incredible suffering and enormous determination is a masterpiece. Told by the women of the Guardado family who live in the small rural town of Chalate, the novel carries us into the heart of El Salvador's civil war. Here, the state and the army with all their power and extreme repression cannot break the will of one poor family. Using simple, clear, direct and riveting prose, Argueta takes us into the minds of the Guardado women, especially Grandmother Lupe, the main narrator. We live their fears, hopes and dreams and feel the fragility of their existence. They are horrendously exploited and almost destitute. Yet, with minimal resources, they fight back against overwhelming odds. The Guardados are no mere victims but the agents of their destiny. Starved, massacred, tortured, disappeared, but still resistant. As Grandfather Jose puts it, "the problem lies in our awareness. The awareness we will have. Then life will become as clear as spring water...The problems can't be solved by a single person but only by all of us working together, the humble. The clearheaded ones." Enormous affection binds the Guardados and fires their resistance. It is in almost every sentence of the parents and children--a level of concern and caring that captures the essence of life. The affection extends to the community and there is understanding even for the soldiers who make war on the family. The loss of loved ones strengthens the women further. As Grandmother Lupe says, "they will have to kill all of us." On the other side is a ruthless army trained and financed by the United States that massacres at will. An army whose soldiers come from poor communities like Chalate. In brilliant passages, Argueta takes us into the mind of an officer being trained by the U.S. Special Forces. Also from a rural background, he comes to hate himself and his people. In exchange for the privileges of his position, he is ready to (as he says) "defend the country against its enemies even at the expense of our own brothers. And even at the expense of our mother." Women are central on both sides of the conflict. They hold the Guardados together in the face of ferocious violence, and for the officer they are "whores" responsible for the "misery in this country...because...they don't waste any time in having children." From self-hatred and misogyny come murder and repression. Argueta explains the officer's attitude by taking us through the labyrinth of mental justification so that we understand how the mind of a killer works. Similarly, we learn about the Guardados by entering their minds. It is this closeness to all his characters that makes Argueta's writing powerful. His intimate knowledge of them makes you forget that they are characters. In this way, One Day of life transcends the novel form and becomes an incomparable literary document of horror and courage. Published in Democratic Left, Spring 1999.

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