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Santa Evita
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Wikipedia article
'Santa Evita' is a 1995 novel by Argentine writer Toms Eloy Martnez. It is the story of the corpse of Argentine political leader Eva Pern, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Pern. The book became a bestseller in Argentina and has been widely translated. It is estimated to have sold over 10 million copies worldwide,[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9389979/Martinez-Tomas-Eloy Britannica] on 'Santa Evita': "Martnez was best known as the author of two classics of Argentine and Latin American literature: La novela de Pern (1985, The Pern Novel, 1988) and Santa Evita (1995, Eng. trans., 1995); the latter was translated into 30 languages and sold more than 10 million copies." (22 November 2007) which makes it one of the best-selling books of all time.
Plot
In a blend of fact and fiction, the story tracks Argentine first lady Eva Pern's perfectly embalmed corpse after her death from cancer at age 33, including how it was seized by the Argentine Military, following the ouster of her husband in 1955. At that time, the corpse was considered a sacred relic, and while army officials wanted to keep it out of the hands of the Peronism political movement, they also considered the consequences of destroying it.
Reception
Michiko Kakutani of 'The New York Times' wrote that since Eva Pern's life seems perfectly suited for the author's "hallucinatory brand of fiction", "it's a pity the novel isn't better. Although Mr. Martinez's narrative is enlivened by some magical and highly perverse set pieces, though it possesses moments that genuinely illuminate the bizarre intersection of history, gossip and legend, the novel as a whole feels leaden and earthbound. In the end, it gives the reader neither a visceral sense of Evita's life nor an understanding of the powerful hold she has exerted on her country's imagination."
TV adaptation
In 2022, it was adapted into a miniseries produced by Salma Hayek and starring Natalia Oreiro.
See also
* 1995 in literature
* Argentine literature
* List of best-selling books
References
Category:1995 novels
Category:Argentine novels
Category:Cultural depictions of Eva Pern
Category:Spanish-language novels
Category:Novels set in Buenos Aires
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