It Would Be Night in Caracas audiobook

Stephen King would be hard-pressed to come up with a story more terrifying than this one because it’s based in reality.Our story begins with a young woman, an editor who works online, whose mother has just died. She has used up most of her money buying her mother’s medication on the black market – the only way she could get it. She had no idea if they were real drugs on not, but what else can she do? Almost no one comes to the funeral – cemeteries are unsafe places. She worries that her mother’s body will be dug up immediately so people can steal her clothes and her jewelry. Now she’s alone. Her father was always absent and she has only had some elderly aunts in a distant rural town. She lives in an apartment in the heart of Caracas so she has a bird’s eye view of the daily chaos. Crime is such that no one can go out after 6 pm. Kids can’t leave their house to go to playgrounds. She hears gunshots every day and bursts of fire from automatic weapons. Anti-government demonstrations are so frequent that she has taped the edges of her windows to prevent tear gas from getting in. She has her own bone to pick with the government. She had a lover, an older man, a journalist, who as murdered for his anti-government reporting. Of all this terror, most frightening to me is her description of the role that the paramilitary types play. The government encourages these semi-official pro-government armed motorcycle gangs to come out and kick ass during anti-government demonstrations. They are free to kill and torture people. The government pays them with crates of food that they can sell on the black market. They set up roadblocks and charge “tolls.” The military cannot control them. A gang of paramilitary biker women – wives and girlfriends, who knows – take over the apartment that she owns. They simply arrive one day, break the lock, trash or steal all her stuff and move in while she is out. When our main character is foolish enough to protest, they knock her unconscious with a pistol. Should she call the police? Let me tell you about the police. They raided another apartment in her building a week ago ‘looking for someone.’ They didn’t find the person but they left with a laptop, a microwave, a TV and suitcases full of stuff. Another character enters the scene. He is a college-aged student, brother of a friend she has. The girlfriend has been told her brother is in prison and has been paying the prison officials to give him food – another shakedown. The girlfriend really has no idea if the brother is dead or alive or even in the prison – she just pays. This young man comes to live with her for a time in her new location. (I won’t give away what she did to find housing except to say it involved the disposal of another body.) The young man was in prison where he was tortured until he agreed to join one of the paramilitary groups. Now he’s on the run from everyone. Should she believe him?So, Stephen King, how do we end this horror story? Relatively happily if you don’t mind nightmares for the rest of your life. The book review is over but I’ve added some facts about recent events in Venezuela from the web. We don’t hear much about this because other world tragedies, like Ukraine, have pushed Venezuela off the front page or out of the media entirely.Venezuela’s economy, society and government have largely disintegrated. This began under Chavez in 1999 and has continued under the current President/dictator Maduro. People are starving: By 2017, a UN report said hunger had escalated to the point where almost 75% of the population had lost an average of over 19 pounds in weight. A UN report estimated in March 2019 that 94% of Venezuelans lived in poverty.By 2021 almost twenty percent of Venezuelans (5.4 million) had left their country. This is more people than have fled Ukraine and a higher percentage of the national population. Venezuela led the world in murder rate, with 81 per 100,000 people killed in 2018. This is about 20 times the murder rate in the USA. The inflation rate in Venezuela averaged 3730 percent from 1973 until 2022, making paper money worthless at times. Barter, US dollars and euros are the currency, or online transactions based in those currencies.The government has given up trying to control large rural areas of the country. Drug lords are the government there.The author was born in Caracas (1982) and worked as a journalist until she emigrated to Spain about ten years ago. She has written a half-dozen novels, although Night appears to be the only one translated into English. Top photo of violence in Caracas from timesofisrael.comPhoto from cnn.comThe author from caracaschronicles.com

Cuando vi las reseñas de la novela, me sorprendió descubrir que estaban muy polarizadas: algunas personas le dieron 4 o 5 estrellas y otras 1 sola. La crítica más común es que se trataría de una novela "oportunista", lo que a priori no es una crítica sobre los méritos literarios del libro. Por otro lado, ¿Cuándo sería el momento adecuado para escribir sobre Venezuela? A la fecha que escribo esta reseña, el chavismo lleva más de 20 años en el poder y el éxodo venezolano también lleva años y años. No hay viso alguno de que Maduro vaya a dejar el poder pronto, y si dura tanto como otros tiranos (la dinastía Al-Assad en Siria lleva 50 años, Aleksander Lukashenko en Bielorrusia 27, Vladimir Putin en Rusia 20, los Castro en Cuba 60, los Kim en Corea del Norte más de 70) habría que esperar a 2050 o más para leer libros que retraten el infierno venezolano. La otra crítica al libro radica en la simplicidad de la trama. El problema es que la vida cotidiana del venezolano promedio se ha convertido en esperar: esperar en todas las colas imaginables. La cola del supermercado, de la farmacia, de la carnicería, a conseguir con suerte un kilo de arroz o un antibiótico vencido. Esas colas pueden durar horas, a veces días, y en ellas pierden sus días. Por lo tanto, ningún personaje ordinario en Venezuela puede hacer de agente secreto o de revolucionario; sería una falta total de verosimilitud. Creo que la disparidad proviene del hecho de tratar un tema candente como Venezuela. Cuando le conté a una amiga que trabaja en la industria editorial que iba a leer este libro, se escandalizó. Me dijo: "¿Cómo vas a leer ese libro? ¡Lo escribió la derecha!". A lo cual le pregunté si lo había leído. Y me dijo que no. No lo había leído. Me sorprendió su actitud, porque la consideraba una persona de mente abierta, pero entonces recordé que el chavismo, y la Revolución Bolivariana, disfrutan de mucho respaldo entre intelectuales-al menos en mi país-sencillamente porque se autodeclara de izquierda. La sola palabra "Revolución" seduce. ¿A quién no le gustaría borrar todas las injusticias de un plumazo? ¿Quién no desearía redimir a los pobres, castigar a los ricos, alumbrar un nuevo orden social más justo? El problema es que no podemos eliminar de golpe el egoísmo, la codicia, el narcisismo, la sed de poder, la megalomanía y todas las otras taras del ser humano. La Historia enseña que muchas Revoluciones tienden a devorar a sus propios hijos. Es duro reconocer que los libertadores, los revolucionarios, se pueden convertir en la nueva casta dominante: en los nuevos opresores. No soy venezolano y no he vivido en el país, pero consulté a emigrados venezolanos-hay muchos en Argentina-por lo que se relata en el libro. Y me confirmaron su verosimilitud: los mercados vacíos, la escasez de artículos básicos, desde harina, carne hasta medicamentos, los cortes de luz, las desapariciones, la represión sin freno-a manos de escuadrones de la muerte como SEBIN, FAES, FANB, la Guardia Nacional, solo por nombrar algunos-la censura, los opositores presos, las torturas brutales, la corrupción, el culto a la personalidad al líder, la complicidad con el narcotráfico y la guerrilla, la inseguridad, la hiperinflación que ha convertido la moneda en papel inútil. Un párrafo aparte merece el personaje de la Mariscala. Bruta, ignorante-casi no sabe leer y escribir-, violenta, se vanagloria de los crímenes que comete con obscenidad. La Mariscala sintetiza muy bien no solamente el totalitarismo (debajo de todos los discursos e imposturas, yace la fuerza bruta: "Yo tengo un arma y vos no") sino también podemos ver en el duelo entre la protagonista y ella un resumen de la clase de ciudadano que anhelan las dictaduras. ¿Qué ciudadano quiere un régimen dictatorial? ¿Uno educado, que esté al tanto de lo que sucede en el mundo, que ha leído, que conoce sus derechos y por lo tanto sabe qué reclamar? ¿O uno embrutecido por la propaganda, mantenido deliberadamente en la ignorancia, que no conoce sus derechos y por lo tanto se siente agradecido cuando el gobierno le entrega, como gran regalo, una caja con comida en mal estado?El libro me parece bien escrito, se puede leer en pocos días. No me parece que sea un mero panfleto político contra el chavismo. La trama es sencilla y avanza con rapidez.

It Would Be Night in Caracas is a moving and intensely gripping debut novel from critically-acclaimed Latin-American author Karina Sainz Borgo. It simultaneously tells the story of a woman and a country, both of whom are falling apart at the seams. It's a genuinely challenging book to read because of this but it has an important and eerily compelling tale to tell all the same. When it begins, the times in which it is set flit around in a disorienting manner, but this was almost certainly Borgo's intention in order to depict the chaos and discombobulation felt by both protagonist, Adelaida, and Venezuelans at the time of the economic collapse. It should, therefore, be no surprise that it is an often uncomfortable and eminently painful narrative with a very engaging set of characters and a keen sense of place; Venezuela is depicted in the most beautiful of ways and conversely in the ugliest.At its heart, though, this is a deeply powerful and affecting political novel, and although it has many important messages and morals within, it is written in such a smooth, flowing style that these heavy topics it explores somehow don't weigh the plot down in any way at all; that is such a mighty impressive task and definitely no easy feat. With lyrical prose, vivid descriptions and an explosive climax, this is a timely and devastating ode to a mother country in true turmoil. I often don't agree when an emerging author is described as a literary master but this is actually rather accurate in this case. I cannot wait to read what Borgo will produce in the future. It's just unfortunate that it will take even longer before it is translated into English. Hopefully, it'll be worth the wait! Many thanks to HarperVia for an ARC.

I received a galley at a BEA giveaway. I normally don’t write long reviews of a book, but felt a bit compelled since I’m seeing some factual inaccuracies in one of the other reviews here. Borgo is tackling many difficult topics at a tumultuous time: she is a Venezuelan writing about Venezuela. So, of course this will be controversial. However, this isn’t a book about taking down socialism or blaming Chavez and Maduro for everything. In fact, the words “Chavez” or “Maduro” are never once used in this book. Instead everything is sort of implied. It’s also not about wealthy Venezuelans or businesses. The main character is a copy editor and her single mom was a teacher. And her flashbacks to a pre-Maduro Venezuela aren’t all paradises and rainbows. There’s a chapter on piloneras afro-indigenous women who used to make corn flour before the big industries came in and took their business away. But there is something really powerful in the chapters where the protagonist thinks back to all the immigrants she met as a child. There’s an Italian shoemaker, and her elementary school classmates. She mentions how they came to Venezuela fleeing right wing dictatorships—something she didn’t understand as a kid, hence when another character calls Pinochet a "president" she gets confused—and made an uneasy home in Caracas. It’s an unusual way to tell the story of immigration, and one that feels particularly jarring. Like one day we could also be the ones searching for a new home. I understand that it’s easy to dismiss this book as about “Venezuela” or “anti-Chavez/Maduro” but it really is so much more than that. I read this book more as a portrait of humans dealing with loss. The protagonists loses her mother at the beginning of the book and then her home and eventually her country and identity. It’s not a perfect book—I’m not sure if the plot twist is believable—but it’s nuanced, complicated, and dares to say something important about being human. And that’s always worth a read.

Come si vive e sopravvive in un paese preda della guerra civile, dove ognuno può essere un nemico o un delatore, dove manca tutto ed uscire di casa può voler dire non riuscire a rientrare perchè qualcuno l'ha occupata? Un libro duro, una notte da cui è difficile uscire, bisogna farsi strada, indurirsi e lacerare le proprie radici.

3.5 ⭐

This review probably only makes sense with some personal background. All reviews are personal and subjective but I do think my enjoyment of this work was incredibly informed by who I am and my history. (Skip the next paragraph if you just want the review)I am a born and raised Clevelander but my dad is from Venezuela, half my family lives in Maracaibo and until 2002 I got to visit every summer. I am not bilingual and my dad doesn't really share too much about our culture with me or my sibling but I do love the food, I found tequeños in Boston and it was one of the best days I had had in awhile. If you don't know what a tequeño is, look it up, it is the best appetizer ever. I also love Encanto, yes its Colombian but its the closest I am ever going to get to a South American story that is related to the culture of half my family. Essential I am always striving to find Venezuelan things to connect with and consume, and this is the first translated work by a Venezuelan author that I have been able to read and in many ways just it existing was going to give it atleast 3 stars unless it did something wildly problematic. All that said this is a literary/general fiction work about a woman who has just lost her mother in Caracas (~2017) and then has her home taken over by revolutionaries. What happens on and off in Caracas is hard to really figure out here in the states but based on what my family tells me there are times when it can be very unsafe to live in Caracas and this story is novelizing one of those moments of unrest and instability while exploring this woman's relationship with her identity. We get to bounce between the stressful present to the past (1980s) and I loved seeing the cultural diversity of Caracas and her relationship to the women in her family. In the present day we see our character coming to terms with the fact that the country she once loved and is her only home is no longer a place that feels safe and what she is willing to do to obtain security again. I don't think this is a perfect story but getting to experience a Venezuelan story, even if its one that is imperfect but I read this in one sitting because of the pace of the story but also because I just loved getting to see the good and the bad of Caracas in this work.

I dont know if I love or hate this book. It is written in a flowery style that can be annoying at times. It is a book that successfully illustrates the utter destruction of the richest South American country of 50 years ago. Adelaida Falcon, the main character, tells the story of many Venezuelans, the daily struggle to get food and the abuses of thugs who run the neighborhood. Although, the majority of educated and middle class Venezuelans have left the country, it is a notable fact that the "socialist revolution" had popular support of the same people who are now starving and living in worse conditions than before. It is just too much to even ponder for me, a person born and raised in the beautiful Venezuela of democracy prior to Chavez. For those who want to relive the horrible life that people endure in Venezuela today day in and day out, you may enjoy this book. I did not enjoy reading this painful story too close to my heart.