Top Books for Understanding Latin America

Anyone planning their first trip to Latin America can find reams of information in guidebooks and on websites, but it is by reading the literature of this fascinating continent that travelers can gain an insight into the culture.

Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano’s insightful tome The Open Veins of Latin America summarizes the history of the continent. The book is organized in terms of the resources which he says constitute the five veins which bleed the wealth of the continent into the coffers of the United States and Europe. First published in 1971, the book remains essential reading for those who wish to understand the historical context of the continent.

Most people will have heard of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but few will have read his book A Hundred Years Of Solitude. Take a leap into the conflicts of the imaginary world of Marquez, which addresses themes relevant to colonial legacy and Latin American culture.

The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa tells the story of a fictional revolution in Brazil and represents an allegory to the various political and social upheavals of Latin American history.

Although Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo received little attention at the time of its publication, the book was cited by Garcia Marquez as a major inspiration for his later work. Hope, despair, truth and lies make for a thought-provoking read.

Isabel Allende’s House of the Spirits provides an insight into the history of Chile, with the theme of social upheaval prominent throughout.

There are undoubtedly many more texts which will improve your understanding of the continent, but these choices provide a varied cross-section of the creative output of the literary world of Latin America.