- Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey through Chile by Sara Wheeler. A travel writer's journey through a country that is 2,600 miles long and never more than 110 miles wide, squeezed between a vast ocean and the longest mountain range on earth. From the driest desert in the world to the sepulchral wastes of Antarctica, Wheeler presents an account that is eloquent, astute, nimble with history and deftly amusing.
- Chile: A Traveler’s Literary Companion by Katherine Silver. This diverse collection of stories, organized geographically, includes the country’s best-known writers, Ariel Dorfman and Pablo Neruda, as well as lesser-known luminaries. This sampling illustrates the diversity of contemporary Chile through the eyes of the country’s current generation of writers.
- In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin. A masterpiece of travel, history and adventure, this award-winning book captures the spirit of the land, history, wildlife and people of Patagonia, "the farthest place to which man walked from his place of origin.”
- My Invented Country : A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile by Isabel Allende. A compelling memoir featuring the almost mythic figures of a Chilean family -- grandparents and great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends -- with whom readers of Allende's fiction will feel immediately at home. And here, too, is an unforgettable portrait of a charming, idiosyncratic Chilean people with a violent history and an indomitable spirit.
- The Dictator’s Shadow: Life Under Augusto Pinochet by Heraldo Muñoz. A gripping memoir of life in Chile under Pinochet, the horrors perpetrated by his regime, his complex character and what it took to overthrow him by Chile’s current ambassador to the United Nations.
- Five Decades, Poems 1925-1970 by Pablo Neruda. A bilingual edition of 138 poems by the great Pablo Neruda, drawn from his entire career. Neruda is the quintessential South American poet: lyrical, engaging and bristling with life.
- Gabriela Mistral: Selected Prose and Prose-Poems. Selected prose by the Chilean Nobel laureate as edited and translated by Stephen Tapscott.
- Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende. A gripping novel by one of Chile's best-loved contemporary writers, illuminating the amazing life of Spanish conquistadora and founder of Santiago, Inés Suárez (1507-1580).
- The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. A remarkably imagined tale of four generations, much in the spirit of Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, centered on a land-owning tyrant, and his wife, daughter and grandchild.
- The History of Chile (Palgrave Essential Histories) by John L. Rector. From its pre-colonial period, to its days as a Spanish colony, through its many independent governments, Chile has long been a land of crises and controversy. Beginning with a survey of the land, people, and current government of Chile, the book traces the chronological story of the country from the indigenous peoples to the democratic transition after the Pinochet dictatorship.
- Clandestine in Chile: The Adventures of Miguel Littín by Gabriel García Márquez. The true story of Chilean film director Miguel Littín, who disguised himself as a Uruguayan businessman and secretly put together a film that would tell the truth about General Augusto Pinochet's reign of terror as a dictator in Chile—a film that would capture the world’s attention while landing the general and his secret police with a very visible black eye.
- The Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics by Elizabeth Quay Hutchison (Editor) et al. A rich variety of documents spanning more than five hundred years of Chilean history. Most of the selections are by Chileans; many have never before appeared in English. The history of Chile is rendered from diverse perspectives, including those of Mapuche Indians and Spanish colonists, peasants and aristocrats, feminists and military strongmen, entrepreneurs and workers, and priests and poets.
- The House of the Spiritis (1993). A star-studded (Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Wynona Rider, Glen Close, Vanessa Redgrave, Antonio Banderas) adaptation of Isabel Allende’s novel, the film is follows the life of a young woman, Clara during the military dictatorship in Chile, and her recollection of her family history.
- Machuca (2004). Pedro, who comes from modest means, gets a free ride to an elite Catholic boarding school run by the forward-thinking Father McEnroe. Gonzalo, one of the wealthy boys at the school, quickly takes a shine to Pedro, and the two become fast friends. But as the boys spend more time with one another, their relationship is strained by the turbulent social and political upheaval happening in their native Chile under the fledgling reign of General Pinochet.
- No (2012). Learn about the marketing campaign that helped put an end to 17 years of dictatorship in Chile. Starring Mexico’s talented Gael García Bernal, No is a truly unique film about the genius of a high-stakes 1980s’ advertising campaign and the brains behind it. This Oscar-nominated film garnered accolades around the world when it was released.
- Gloria (2013). Single again at 58, Gloria Cumplido is using her new life situation as an excuse to live big. Gloria’s role illuminates the ups and downs and everything in between of being single and free – yet not so young. Chilean Sebastián Lelio directed Gloria, which was released in 2013 when it received widespread critical acclaim and won Paulina García the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.
- El Chacotero Sentimental (1999). Inspired by stories of romance, love and sexual encounters from the real-life radio program of Chilean DJ el Rumpy, El Chacotero Sentimental, or “The Sentimental Teaser,” is a titillating 1999 film that doesn’t hold back. A multitude of Chileans tuned in to el Rumpy’s legendary program, making it an ideal subject for this entertaining film about passion and storytelling.
- Nostalgia de la Luz (2010). Chile’s well-regarded documentary filmmaker Patricio Guzmán weaves together a fascinating story about memory, the legacy of humanity, and human atrocity in this stunning and poignant documentary. Nostalgia de la Luz, or “Nostalgia for the Light,” centers around interviews with astronomers searching for answers about humanity’s beginning and conversations with distraught women looking for the physical remains of their loved ones killed during the Chilean dictatorship.
- El Chacal de Nahueltoro (1969). This gritty 1969 film directed by Miguel Littín centers around the true story of an impoverished drunk who murders a woman and her five children. El Chacal de Nahueltoro, or “Jackal of Nahueltoro,” follows the Chilean criminal before and after committing these heinous crimes and continues through his redemptive time waiting on death row and ultimate execution.
- La Nana (2009). The award-winning Chilean film La Nana, or “The Maid,” directed by Sebastián Silva digs into the experiences of Raquel, a Chilean maid who has worked in the house of the wealthy Valdes family for over two decades. Showing the details, drama and human relationships of Raquel’s daily life, the film captures the intimate experiences of domestic workers, in part thanks to the brilliant acting of Catalina Saavedra, who won several awards for her portrayal of Raquel.
|
