6 Books by Rodrigo Rey Rosa: A Guatemalan Writer Powered by History
“Escribir ficción es un ejercicio de libertad y de imaginación que puede hacernos felices.”
– Rodrigo Rey Rosa
“Writing fiction is an exertion of freedom and imagination that can make us happy.”
As a writer, this simple yet accurate quote inspired me—when reading Rodrigo Rey Rosa’s biography, I could only think of all the accomplishments I want to achieve in life.
If you’re here, one of your goals is likely to achieve Spanish fluency and, luckily, reading Spanish literature is an excellent way to get there!
The Benefits of Reading Spanish Literature
The benefits of reading literature in Spanish are more bountiful and impactful than you may think. By focusing on Spanish literature that suits your personal tastes, you enjoy the value of:
- learning grammar in context
- discovering more complex vocabulary
- flexing your syntactic knowledge, and
- strengthening your comprehension skills.
Along with exploring the natural application of Spanish (instead of just grammatical structures), you become familiar with idiomatic expressions that serve to improve your overall fluency.
Rodrigo Rey Rosa’s books and stories are excellent works of fiction with a terse style that prove useful and accessible for intermediate and advanced Spanish students.
Who Is Rodrigo Rey Rosa?
Born in Guatemala in 1958, Rodrigo Rey Rosa has dedicated his life to writing. In 1979, he moved to New York, where he attended the School of Visual Arts. He then moved to Tangier, Morocco where he settled for some time. He participated in literary workshops and eventually met Paul Bowles, who’s been responsible for translating most of his work into English, furthering his international career.
While Rey Rosa has traveled to Europe, and spent some time in Germany and Greece, he bought a house in Petén, Guatemala and an apartment in Guatemala City— although he claims to get his inspiration elsewhere.
The power of his fiction writing lies in its portrayal of years of war, violence, and crimes perpetrated against the indigenous (Mayan) communities of Guatemala.
His Literary Goal
His goal to condemn these destructive, violent acts that have rained down on Mayan communities for decades is voiced in his work, empowering visibility and urging present and future generations to not ignore such travesties.
His Achievements
Critics describe his writing style as elegant, sober, and profound—garnering national acclaim and literature awards such as Premio José Donoso 2015 and Premio Nacional de Literatura in Guatemala in 2004.
Here’s a list of six books by Rodrigo Rey Rosa that will be a great addition to your collection with profound stories that expose the reality of minorities told in the most truthful yet concise manner.
6 Powerful Books by Rodrigo Rey Rosa
The following list includes a link to purchase the book in case the genre, the plot, and the reviews—also added in this post—catch your attention.
1. Carta de un ateo guatemalteco al Santo Padre (2020) / Letter From a Guatemalan Atheist to the Holy Father
- Genre: Suspense
- Spanish: Paperback, Kindle
What It’s About
In this novel, Rey Rosa exposes the Catholic Church for claiming lands that belonged to a specific indigenous community—the Kaqchikeles—and the unjust treatments they suffered as a result.
Not only did the Church rob the Kaqchikeles of the ownership of their land, it destroyed a chapel they had built in an attempt to undermine their cultural autonomy.
The book parallels his own efforts as an activist to contact Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio) in 2018 demanding a response in relation to the abuses. His desire to improve global awareness of this unlawful oppression fell on deaf ears, prompting him to write a novel about it. This event spurred the creation of his novel’s main character, Román Rodolfo Rovirosa, who requests the papacy to interject in favor of the inhabitants of Canjá whose lands and religious traditions were undergoing violation and theft by a newly-arrived Catholic priest.
This book exposes the injustice and hypocrisy perpetrated by the Catholic Church against unprotected communities. Throughout the novel, Rey Rosa doesn’t attempt to blame religion for these atrocities, instead he accuses the “Earthly leaders” of self-serving and money-hungry administrative decisions. The letter which began it all—and appears as the novel’s prologue—discloses how the diocese of Sololá attempted to appropriate not only lands but also the historical religious autonomy of Canjá’s residents in order to replace their traditions with Catholic ones.
What Others Are Saying
Diario De Verdad wrote that as brief as this novel is, it covers many faces of reality as it uncovers how influential, corrupt, and even racist dioceses can be, but also emphasizes Rivorosa’s commitment to help the Mayan communities through dialogue and understanding. The novel is concise and not a heavy read, while it still manages to explore highly detailed information concerning Mayan cosmovision and its stark differences to Catholicism.
2. El Material Humano (2009) / Human Matter: A Fiction
- Genre: Crime novel
- Spanish: Paperback, Kindle
- English: Human Matter: A Fiction
What It’s About
Like many of Rodrigo Rey Rosa’s books, the plot is inspired by the author’s real experience.
It narrates a writer’s emotional ups and downs as he unlocks police records and historical files related to Guatemala’s recent history rife with state-sanctioned violence and barbarism. He soon grows suspicious that the current administration is blocking and limiting his investigation to prevent him from finding secrets he shouldn’t know.
Being a work of fiction, this novel mirrors reality as it describes the crimes against humanity that were perpetrated during 36 years but were only condemned after 1996—all of which were ordered by the government of Guatemala. The reader is invited to accompany the lead character as he “encounters the many conflicting ways in which individuals deal with the painful truths of the past.”
Read more: A Brief History of Guatemala’s 36-Year-Long Civil War That Ended in 1996
What Others Are Saying
Critics have described the novel as enticing and straightforward. Meanwhile, other critics have been quick to mention that while the story is written elegantly and with a unique style, it might not be so accurate when exposing the third-world reality of Guatemala.
3. El país de Toó (2018) / The Land of Toó
- Genre: Mystery and Thriller
- Spanish: Paperback, Kindle
What It’s About
Dive into the painful truth of corruption and abuse of power with these fictional depictions that parallel a sad reality.
In the land of Toó, a Mayan community has enjoyed peace with the laws of a reigning government for nearly two hundred years, tucked away in an isolated land within a small Central American republic. The plot quickly thickens as Mayan forces grow weary of the government-sanctioned mining companies and their endless greed for land and precious resources.
The forces decide to take an offensive position in hopes of restoring their people’s right to land and the environment’s right not to be irreversibly pillaged.
The novel reveals the perspective of Polo Yrrarraga, the main character whose struggle to defend his people attracts attention from nefarious enemies who conspire against him to stop him from fighting back.
A story that has been lived by thousands but told by few, this novel unravels the intricacies of corruption in Central America and the recent power struggles in this third world country.
What Others Are Saying
As we’ve seen in Rodrigo Rey Rosa’s books, the novel is known as concise, forthright, and an entertaining read for everyone interested in a realistic exploration of the power struggles prevailing in Central American culture.
4. Fábula asiática (2017) / Chaos, A Fable
- Genre: Science fiction
- Spanish: Paperback, Kindle
- English: Chaos, A Fable (paperback, hardcover, Kindle)
- Audiobook in English
What It’s About
This sensational work of fiction follows a Mexican writer who visits an old friend in Tangier, Morocco and discovers that his friend’s son, Abdelkrim, is in trouble. His friend then entrusts him to protect several audio cassettes that reveal the story of Abdelkrim—a Moroccan math prodigy—who was plucked from his United States’ university to follow a special NASA program.
Along with the cassettes, the Mexican writer receives a memory card with documents in Arabic that he has to decode. As he dives into Abdelkrim’s story, he discovers that his own life may be in danger as he unknowingly penetrates an elaborate conspiracy, and he’s being chased—but by whom?
Alongside the action-packed conspiratorial drama, the book explores Abdelkrim struggles with the American dream as a Muslim as he teams up with a witness to the circumstances of Syrian refugees the United States. With motives born from their cultural collision, they’re moved to sabotage technology in order to “reboot” humanity back to the Middle Ages and start over with a fresh, less violent nature.
What Others Are Saying
J. Ernesto Ayala-Dip from El Correo Español describes this book as “literature of the senses and of essential knowledge. Sensual and moral. Read it to enjoy it almost irrationally.”
Readers strongly recommend this quick read if you’re interested in a quarrel between groups pointed out as terrorists and globalization with a touch of mystery.
5. Imitación de Guatemala (2013)
- Genre: Mystery
- Spanish: Paperback, Kindle
Among Rodrigo Rey Rosa’s books is this collection of four short novels, with which you can submerge yourself into the portrayal of a violence-battered country thanks to the following stories:
- Que me maten si… (Kill Me if…)
- El cojo bueno (The Good Gimp)
- Piedras encantadas (Enchanted Stones)
- Caballeriza (Stable)
What It’s About
This collection of intense crime dramas expose human rights violations and horrors against minorities. Rodrigo Rey Rosa claims that Guatemala’s history has plenty of tales to feed his genre of expertise and turn his investigations and experiences into memorable works of fiction.
Of the compilation, he says: “It was actually Alfaguara’s (the editor’s) idea, though there is no relation between the argument of each story.”
Stories explore events like the bloody massacres against indigenous groups in the mountains of small towns, child trafficking, an indelible abduction, a fatal hit-and-run that kills a child, and the fire of a stable during an equestrian party—all of which are crime thrillers that emerge from the reality of delinquency, injustice, and impunity.
What Others Are Saying
San Francisco Chronicle’s Johan Raskin observes that Rey Rosa “creates stories of mythical proportions and skillfully sets the border that separates the conscious from the unconscious, the language of silence, civilization from barbarity.”
Reader reviews show that many believe this book accurately portrays the reality of social injustice as well as socio-political problems in Guatemala.
6. Severina (2011)
What It’s About
With a little twist from Rodrigo Rey Rosa’s usual plot and themes, this suspenseful novel brings to life a book thief and a bookshop owner who’s swept off his feet by the intriguing criminal.
La Entretenida is a small bookstore targeted by Ana Severin to not-so-stealthily steal some books. After the bookseller notices what she’s done, an unspoken connection erupts between them, which is further heightened soon after by Severina’s disappearance.
Suddenly, after several months, she returns with no explanation. The story develops as it exposes matters of mystery and crime.
What’s more, Severina’s life takes another turn for the worst as her grandfather becomes ill—but the bookseller is quick to help her take care of her loved one, strengthening their bond even more.
The author has described it as a romantic delirium.
Every novelist’s dream, this absorbing story was picked up by the big screen in 2017 with the screenwriting and directing skills of Felipe Hirsch and an IMDb rating of 6.6.
Without a doubt, this book promises to keep you on the edge of your seat.
What Others Are Saying
Readers love this well-written love story, touting it as an easy read with hectic, emotion-crazed characters whose wild adventures will inspire you to read more like-minded Guatemalan literature.
Rodrigo Rey Rosa’s Compilations & Short Stories
1986 Cuentos completos (2014)
- Genre: Suspense, thriller, mystery.
- Spanish: Paperback and Kindle
1986 Cuentos completos collects all of Rodrigo Rey Rosa’s short stories in order to separate these from his full-length novels and give new readers a taste of his work.
All the stories coincide around thrill, truthfulness, and sobriety.
The best part is that reading short stories is a good option to start exploring Latin American literature and history!
El País claims that with a thorough exploration and a stark style that differs from American writers, Rodrigo Rey Rosa’s books are solid and frank. With every short story and novel, his neutral stand on the matters that he discusses and exposes makes his writing an undoubtful reflection of truthfulness.
These two short stories have engraved human nature and their hardships in their prose:
La prueba / The Test
When I read synopsis and reviews about Rodrigo Rey Rosa’s books, they mentioned thrillers, scandalous, and succinct stories about human nature. I understood all that when I read La prueba.
This very short story about a child’s questioning of God’s power and benignity also explores a person’s ability to go to unbelievable lengths to make a point. It makes you wonder if all of us are born with a certain curiosity—possibly even an affinity—for darkness and exploring the limits of our own wickedness.
La niña que no tuve / The Daughter I Didn’t Have
This brief story is quick to shake your senses with the reality of a little girl who has 120 days to live. It pains her father to tell her the truth as he struggles to make her last days count. A tale of single parenthood, fatherly love, and the loneliness of being an only child, Rodrigo Rey Rosa delves into grief and death with this short story.
Ready to Have a Conversation in Spanish?
If you’re ready to jump into Latin American literature, you’re certainly ready to have a conversation with a Spanish native speaker! Sign up today for your free Spanish class to see for yourself how fun it is to improve your fluency with our certified teachers from Guatemala. Every class is 1-on-1, student-tailored, and designed to skyrocket your Spanish level from the comfort of your home!
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