Author(s): Andrea Jeftanovic (Translated by Frances Riddle)

Novel | Translated fiction | Fiction Reductions | Chile | Charco Press

A powerful novel depicting the devastating psychological effects of war, political violence and domestic abuse. This is a story narrated from the point of view of a nine-year old girl, Tamara, who takes in the intricacies of the survival strategies of the world she inherits, marked by poverty, unspeakable trauma, trapped scenarios. Theatre of War takes us on a desolate journey into the reconstruction of memory – a universal question that here turns into a reflection on how giant historical events can affect the seemingly insignificant lives of nameless individuals. Tamara, protagonist and narrator, faces the ghosts of a very tangible past that includes her father’s war (an immigrant from former Yugoslavia), a very conflictive family life, suicides, lost landscapes, inherited trauma, absent siblings and a mother who, due to an undefined illness, has suffered from partial memory loss and cannot recognise her own daughter.  

Andrea Jeftanovic's debut novel, is an exploration of the empty theatre of operations her memory provides for the domestic war she was part of as a child. The Chilean novelist approaches the ruins of memory to source from them the love needed to build her identity as an adult. An impressive, sensitive, harrowing, widely praised first novel from one of the most important female novelists of Latin America.

"A memorable novel of devastating poignancy." -Irish Times

"Exquisitely constructed and executed." -New Internationalist

"A memorable novel of devastating poignancy." -Irish Times

"Jeftanovic's prose, seamlessly reproduced by Frances Riddle, is exquisite, each sentence carefully crafted, doing so much on its own, while contributing to the whole." -BookBlast

"Theatre of War is a confident debut and a powerful exorcism of one family's inherited trauma." -The Skinny

"It shows us that wars last far longer than battles in the hearts, minds, the very DNA of those who have to suffer them. Theatre of War is an absolute triumph or literature." -Books and Bao

"Jeftanovic's staccato rhythms, with short lines and stark and sometimes dark imagery, matches the urgency of the novel, along with its lyrical and symbolic qualities" -Morning Star

"Jeftanovic explores the darkest corners of human psychology...a rare gem." -El Cultural

"Restless and wholly engrossing." -Sounds & Colours

Author Biography:

Andrea Jeftanovic was born in Santiago de Chile in 1970. A critically acclaimed novelist, storyteller and essayist, Jeftanovic is considered one of the most prominent literary figures of her country and the region. She is the author of two novels and two collections of short stories. She studied Sociology at the Catholic University in Santiago and completed a PhD in Latin American Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. Jeftanovic has received several awards, including the Chilean Art Critics Circle Award and the National Book and Reading Council Award. Her work has been translated into several languages and has appeared in anthologies in Chile as well as internationally. She is a regular contributor to Quimera, Letras Libres, and El Mercurio. First published in 2000, _Theatre of War _was her debut novel and is her first book to appear in English.

Frances Riddle lives in Buenos Aires, where she works as a translator, writer, and editor. She holds an MA in translation studies from the University of Buenos Aires and a BA in Spanish literature. Her book-length publications include A Simple Story by Leila Guerriero (New Directions, 2017); Bodies of Summer by Martin Felipe Castagnet (Dalkey Archive Press, 2017); and The Life and Deaths of Ethel Jurado (Hispabooks, 2017). This is her fourth title for Charco Press after Slum Virgin by Gabriela Cabezon Camara (2017), The German Room by Carla Maliandi (2018) and Theatre of War by Andrea Jeftanovic (2020).