Mr. President

Name: Mr. President
ISBN: 9787532762385

米盖尔·安赫尔·阿斯图里亚斯 / 黄志良 / 刘静言Shanghai Translation Publishing House · ChinaDec 2018

4.1

Word count: 188K words
Chapters: 47
ISBN: 9787532762385

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Summary

Mr. President is a novel by Miguel Ángel Asturias, the Guatemalan writer and 1967 Nobel Laureate in Literature, and one of his most important masterpieces. Modeled on Manuel Estrada Cabrera, who ruled from 1898 to 1920, the book uses caricature-like exaggeration to create the figure of a vulgar, cunning, cruel, and sinister tyrant. Under his grip the entire country is shrouded in ignorance, poverty, terror, and despair. In many chapters, readers can discern the dictator's ghostlike shadow only through other characters' words and deeds, their psychology, and the depiction of their fates. He is formless yet omnipresent, a deity living in every heart. Through this technique of letting the secondary eclipse the primary and blending the real with the unreal, the novel veils the tyrant's image in a mysterious fog. The meticulously crafted oppressive, gloomy atmosphere evokes a hell ruled by the devil. Mr. President, together with Uslar Pietri's The Funeral of the Dictator, García Márquez's The Autumn of the Patriarch, and José Luis García Sánchez's Tirano Banderas, is collectively known as one of the "four great Latin American anti-dictatorship novels."

Editor's review

Mr. President is not only the representative work of Nobel laureate Miguel Ángel Asturias but also a foundational work of Latin American magical realism. Modeled on the Guatemalan dictator Manuel Estrada Cabrera, who ruled from 1898 to 1920, the novel paints a panoramic portrait of a society twisted and suffocated under totalitarian shadow through highly condensed symbolism and dreamlike prose. Asturias creatively fuses indigenous myth and legend, supernatural elements, and brutal political reality; the language itself is like a storm, full of layered imagery, echoing sounds, and streams of consciousness—reading it is both shocking and dizzying. This is far from a simple political satire: it probes how power permeates and alienates human nature, how fear becomes an instrument of rule, and how the collective unconscious ferments under despotism. The nightmarish scenes—such as the chain reaction triggered by the death of the beggar Pelele, and the president's ubiquitous surveillance network—retain startling metaphorical force today. For Chinese readers, this Shanghai Translation Publishing House edition is finely translated and captures well the poetic tension and linguistic density of the original. Reading this book is a challenge and a rediscovery of literature's possibilities.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Serious readers interested in Latin American literature and magical realism
Readers seeking to understand power structures, totalitarian politics, and human nature
Lovers of experimental, poetic language and complex narrative structures
Scholars and students of twentieth-century world literature or political literature

Not a good fit for

Casual readers looking for light entertainment or fast-paced plotting
Readers impatient with nonlinear narrative, heavy symbolism, and psychological description

Reading tips

Begin with the author's preface or an introduction to Guatemala's history; this helps in understanding the text's political metaphors.
Don't overthink the linear logic of the plot; try to immerse yourself in the nightmare atmosphere and the rhythm of the language.
After reading, pair it with One Hundred Years of Solitude or works by Carpentier to see different facets of magical realism.

About the publisher

Shanghai Translation Publishing House China · Founded in 1978

Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.

版权信息
译序
第一部四月二十一日、二十二日和二十三日
一天主堂门廊下
二 “苍蝇”之死
三佩莱莱的逃亡
四天使的脸
五那个畜生！
六将军的头颅
七大主教饶恕罪孽
八门廊下的木偶戏艺人
九玻璃眼睛
十军中王子
十一劫持
第二部四月二十四日、二十五日、二十六日和二十七日
十二卡米拉
十三搜捕
十四歌功颂德
十五叔叔婶婶们
十六在“新院”
十七惹祸的爱情
十八叩门声声
十九算账与喝粥
二十一丘之貉
二十一天旋地转
二十二活的坟墓
二十三上呈总统先生的报告
二十四烟花巷里
二十五死亡的归宿
二十六梦魇
二十七逃亡路上
第三部年年，月月，日日……
二十八黑暗中的对话
二十九军事法庭
三十冲喜
三十一冷酷的哨兵
三十二总统先生
三十三原来如此
三十四镜花水月
三十五歌中的雅歌
三十六革命
三十七托依尔舞
三十八旅途
三十九港口
四十捉迷藏
四十一平安无事
尾声

FAQ

Is this book a record of real historical events?

It is not straightforward historical record. The novel is based on real dictators but is highly artistically transformed, blending myth, symbol, and surreal elements to reveal the universal nature of totalitarianism rather than a single historical fact.

Why does it feel obscure and difficult to read?

This is due to its unique writing style. Asturias employs extensive poetic language, interior monologue, layered imagery, and interwoven time and space, which presents a barrier on first reading. Adjust your expectations and treat it as a "symphonic poem of language" to be felt rather than simply understood.

What are the features of this edition?

The Shanghai Translation Publishing House edition is a relatively classic Chinese translation. The translator focuses on conveying the literary quality and linguistic characteristics of the original, and the book usually includes a helpful translator's afterword or introduction that offers interpretive guidance.

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About the author

米盖尔·安赫尔·阿斯图里亚斯 Author

Miguel Ángel Asturias was a Guatemalan writer, usually placed within the tradition of foreign literature in the Chinese-speaking world. Four of his works are included in this catalogue: The Eyes of the Interred (Corn Men, Classic Translations), Leyendas de Guatemala, Mr. President, and Corn Men. Because public information is limited, this note does not expand on the details of his life and focuses instead on his works. These titles suggest that his writing is closely tied to the land, legends, and political realities of Guatemala: on the one hand it draws on folk tales and myth, and on the other it confronts power and social injustice. Mr. President and Corn Men exemplify this dual orientation, the former turning toward politics and the latter rooted in rural life and collective memory. His works have been translated into Chinese, offering readers an important window into Latin American literature.

黄志良 Author

Huang Zhili is an author about whom limited public information is available. Two of his works are currently held in the collection: Borges, Oral and Mr. President. Judging from these two titles, his writing spans the categories of essays and miscellaneous writings and of foreign literature. The former centers on oral material related to Borges and has the character of a record or essay; the latter belongs to foreign literature and points toward fictional narrative or classic translation. Because his dates of birth and death, nationality, educational background, and professional career are not clearly recorded, his life remains difficult to outline, and the available information presents his works rather than a personal biography. In terms of subject matter, he attends to foreign literary and intellectual resources, and his writing tends toward introduction and arrangement. Though his output is small, it shows a sustained interest in works of foreign literature, through which readers may approach the relevant authors and texts.

刘静言 Author

Liu Jingyan is one of the authors included in the Chinese book database, but reliable public information about this author is limited, and their identity details and life history cannot currently be confirmed. According to the database, Liu Jingyan has one work, Mr. President, which is classified under foreign literature, suggesting that the author's writing or translation activity is related to that field. The title Mr. President often brings to mind narratives centered on political figures or themes of power, yet the existing records alone do not make it possible to determine whether the work is an original creation, a translation, or an edited compilation; its specific genre, content orientation, and publication background are also absent from the available materials. The introduction to Liu Jingyan must therefore remain at the level of work-related clues, and details such as education, profession, or creative experience should not be added without verification. If more complete author information and bibliographic records become available later, they could be used to further explain the author's writing style and place in the dissemination of foreign literature.