Desert Memories Journeys Through the Chilean North

by DORFMAN, ARIEL

• ISBN13: 9780792262404
• ISBN10: 0792262409
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-01-27
• Publisher: National Geographic

Summary

El Norte Grande of Chile is the world's driest desert, a vast, barren expanse where a person can live an entire lifetime without ever feeling a single drop of rain, where rivers vanish into the sands and trees are all but unknown. But this forbidding landscape has many stories to tell an observant, inquisitive traveler. Someone like Ariel Dorfman. Renowned as a poet, essayist, novelist, and playwright, he combines eloquence, passion, and personal experience with a sure sense of place and a keen eye for the telling detail that brings history to life -- for this account of his journey through the desert is also a chronicle of modern Chile. Like an archaeologist, he sifts through shards of memory to recreate a world that no longer exists but still casts a long shadow over his native land.

Author Biography

Ariel Dorfman, the Chilean novelist, playwright, journalist, poet, and human rights activist was forced into exile from his homeland following the Chilean military coup of 1973. Since the restoration of democracy in 1990, he has divided his time between Santiago and the United States. His writings have won numerous awards, including the Sir Laurence Olivier Award for the best play in London, 1992. He contributes regularly to major newspapers and magazines around the world. He is a distinguished professor at Duke University and lives with his wife, Angelica, in Durham, North Carolina, and Santiago, Chile

Table of Contents

Prologue: Opening in Arica: Circling Back	p. 3
Origins
Footprint in the South	p. 23
Star Prospectors	p. 45
Cemeteries Under the Moon	p. 63
Ghosts
Nomads of Nitrate	p. 83
Time for a Story	p. 105
Mountain of Fire	p. 117
Under the Sand	p. 137
Bodies
Preservation Blues	p. 157
Family Secrets	p. 189
Finding Freddy	p. 221
Epilogue: Footsteps in the North: Arica and Beyond	p. 261
Acknowledgments, Along with a Final Story	p. 277
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