A chilling political thriller set at the end of Peru's grim war between Shining Path terrorists and a morally bankrupt government counterinsurge... read full description
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Feb 23, 2011
Greg
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From http://weeksnotice.blogspot.com/2010/12/...
Santiago Roncagliolo's Red April: A Novel is a creepy yet engrossing mystery set in Peru in March-April 2000. It focuses on the fight against Sendero Luminoso in Ayacucho.
Félix Chacaltana Saldívar is a prosecutor put in charge of investigating a particularly grisly murder he thinks should be attributed to Sendero, and he starts to unravel a series of killings for which he ultimately starts to feel responsible, because all th More...
Santiago Roncagliolo's Red April: A Novel is a creepy yet engrossing mystery set in Peru in March-April 2000. It focuses on the fight against Sendero Luminoso in Ayacucho.
Félix Chacaltana Saldívar is a prosecutor put in charge of investigating a particularly grisly murder he thinks should be attributed to Sendero, and he starts to unravel a series of killings for which he ultimately starts to feel responsible, because all th More...
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Nov 16, 2010
Monica
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Santiago Roncagliolo's thriller (translated by THE Edith Grossman), Red April, is a savage and chilling political thriller that examines the violence that lies within even the seeming meekest of characters. Set mostly in the small town of Ayacucho, Peru, beginning in the month leading up to the Holy Week Celebration in April of 2000, Associate District Prosecutor Felix Salvidor Chalcatana, has recently returned to his hometown after more than twenty years working in Lima. New to local p More...
Nov 07, 2011
Garry
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It didn't take me very long to get into Red April. From the moment I was introduced to Felix Chacaltana, a public official in the small Peruvian town of Ayacucho, I was hooked. Felix is a prosecutor, but I'm still a little unclear what a prosecutor does in Peru. It's something to do with prosecuting crimes.
Which there are a lot of in the small Peruvian town of Ayacucho. Violent crimes. Not bullet-in-the-back-of-the-head type of crimes, like they used to do in the recent terroris More...
Which there are a lot of in the small Peruvian town of Ayacucho. Violent crimes. Not bullet-in-the-back-of-the-head type of crimes, like they used to do in the recent terroris More...
Jun 07, 2009
Mike
rated it: 
After complaining about the dead metaphor (and dull generic familiarity) of serial killers elsewhere, let me say upfront: Roncaglio exploits the conventions and the premise to some unexpected effect. While his hapless, almost Chance-the-Gardeneresque prosecutor protagonist struggles to fill out the paperwork involved, the appearance of ritually burned/mutilated bodies gets him in dutch with the pervasively corrupt military higher-ups. There's some lovely stuff early on with the obsessive Chaca
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Apr 04, 2010
Shawn
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I had some initial reservations about reading Red April because I don't know much about Peruvian revolutionary history or the Senderista. Fortunately, the novel is much more of a murder mystery than it is a work of historical fiction. The plot deals with a serious of gruesome murders that occur during Holy Week in Peru. A young prosecutor investigating the crimes feels that it might be the work of terrorists. It's the terrorist angle that really makes Red April such a great novel.
Thi More...
Thi More...
Jun 09, 2011
Jason
rated it:
Santiago Roncagliolo has written a novel that is evidently aimed at the popular taste for a mixture of lurid violence, rapid-moving story and surprising twists. If you have seen Alex de la Iglesia's Christmas movie Balada Triste de la Trompeta, you get the idea that this stuff sells.
The intelligent parts of the book drop out of the characters' mouths like the scrolls in medieval paintings. This is story-telling for people who like to see things written in capitals with double under More...
The intelligent parts of the book drop out of the characters' mouths like the scrolls in medieval paintings. This is story-telling for people who like to see things written in capitals with double under More...
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Sep 17, 2010
Tim
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Scandinavian crime fiction is the hot new wave, a new niche of bestsellers combining mystery, thrillers and, occasionally, social themes and history. Despite the buzz around fiction from Northern Europe, Red April, the first book by Peruvian author Santiago Roncagliolo to be translated into English, can stand its own in any comparison.
Red April is built around Peru's deadly internal warfare of the late 20th Century. Associate District Prosecutor Félix Chacaltana Saldívar has volunt More...
Red April is built around Peru's deadly internal warfare of the late 20th Century. Associate District Prosecutor Félix Chacaltana Saldívar has volunt More...
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Aug 26, 2010
Rowland
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Red April takes place from March through early May, 2000, largely in the provincial Peruvian city of Ayacucho. Associate District Prosecutor Félix Chacaltana Saldívar was recently transferred here from Lima -- the reverse of everyone's ambition. He requested the transfer: after the dissolution of his marriage he wanted to come back to his hometown, and his mother. His mother has long been dead, but she really, really lives on in his memory; indeed, at home he behaves as if she were still alive a
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Dec 05, 2011
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Mar 19, 2011
Carey
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Apr 29, 2011
Mark
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It sounds kind of unsexy: an officious, over-zealous prosecutor going about his business in provincial Peru. But Roncagliolo has written an oddly addictive book. It's sort of a thriller, as the prosecutor finds himself investigating a series of horrific murders which may or may not signify the re-emergence of the presumed dormant Peruvian terrorist group, the Shining Path. If the plot is at times a little too clunky and contrived to zip through on that basis alone, where this book wins is in its
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Sep 06, 2009
Scotchneat
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Roncagliolo brings that South American mix of magic realism and dark reality to mystery.
An unremarkable detective is put in charge of a rather sensational murder during Holy Week in Peru.
There a lot of time and place that comes through the story. Felix Saldivar is quirky, preoccupied and really not the kind of hero who comes to solve the case and get all the grandeur.
I think that South American writers are incapable of writing non-labyrinthine plots or senten More...
An unremarkable detective is put in charge of a rather sensational murder during Holy Week in Peru.
There a lot of time and place that comes through the story. Felix Saldivar is quirky, preoccupied and really not the kind of hero who comes to solve the case and get all the grandeur.
I think that South American writers are incapable of writing non-labyrinthine plots or senten More...
Jul 03, 2009
Marianne
rated it:
Tough book to read, given the angst of the protagonist and the culture of undeclared civil war in Peru. Felix Chacaltana Saldivar es Fiscal Distrital Adjunto, trasladado de Lima a Ayacucho en 2000. En marzo aparece en Quinua un cadaver quemado, faltando una peirna. De ahi empiezan los asesinatos sangrientos en la Semana Santa. Cada muerto ha tenido alguna relacion con Chacaltana. En las palabras del autor, "Siempre quise escribir una novela sobre lo que ocurre cuando la muerte se convi
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Jan 22, 2011
Monica
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Santiago Roncagliolo's thriller (translated by THE Edith Grossman), Red April, is a savage and chilling political thriller that examines the violence that lies within even the seeming meekest of characters. Set mostly in the small town of Ayacucho, Peru, beginning in the month leading up to the Holy Week Celebration in April of 2000, Associate District Prosecutor Felix Salvidor Chalcatana, has recently returned to his hometown after more than twenty years working in Lima. New to local politi
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Oct 12, 2010
Mark
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Life is a constant struggle for prosecutor Felix Chacaltana Saldivar in Ayacucho. Having recently divorced, he has left Lima for a smaller town and becomes embroiled in political corruption and deceit at the highest levels. Struggling to find his place he is thwarted at every turn, made to accept the status quo and required to go along to keep in the graces of the local militia and police. The story reminded me of David Pearce’s Red Riding Quartet, not only in the aspects of his superiors lookin
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Apr 12, 2008
Maria
rated it:
Santiago Roncagliolo (Lima, 1975) se ha convertido en el primer escritor peruano en obtener el Premio Alfaguara con Abril rojo, un relato policial ambientado en las celebraciones de semana santa ayacuchana del año 2000. En ese contexto, el fiscal Félix Chacaltana tiene que descubrir la identidad de un misterioso asesino en serie, pero sus investigaciones lo llevan más bien a encontrar las huellas de la violencia política, la guerra que se desarrolló en esa región durante las décadas pasadas. Des
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Feb 05, 2010
Susie
rated it:
Très bon livre!
Un polar très différent de tous ceux que j'ai lu auparavant. L'histoire se passe au Pérou (pays de l'auteur). Un corps est retrouvé calciné et le substitut du procureur Félix Chacaltana enquête. Chacaltana est loin d'être un héros! Il essaie de faire son travail en observant les règles de son mieux. Mais dans ce coin de pays, à ce moment dans l'histoire, il n'y a plus de règles... On dirait un cauchemar... Chacaltana nous devient sympathique. L'histoire est définitivement no More...
Un polar très différent de tous ceux que j'ai lu auparavant. L'histoire se passe au Pérou (pays de l'auteur). Un corps est retrouvé calciné et le substitut du procureur Félix Chacaltana enquête. Chacaltana est loin d'être un héros! Il essaie de faire son travail en observant les règles de son mieux. Mais dans ce coin de pays, à ce moment dans l'histoire, il n'y a plus de règles... On dirait un cauchemar... Chacaltana nous devient sympathique. L'histoire est définitivement no More...
Aug 05, 2011
Nayel
rated it:
Creo que escogí la mejor época para leer Abril Rojo: la Semana Santa. Y también diría el mejor año, ya que en este cayó en abril. Eso me hizo disfrutar un poco más la lectura. Qué mejor manera de terminarlo que un Domingo de Resurección, no creen? Pero bueno, ya dejando las pajas aparte, sólo puedo decir que es entretenido, pero que al final le faltó un poquito de sal (o tal vez de tequila, no sé)
Jul 13, 2011
Asmah
rated it:
A truly amazing book that is suspenseful to the end and that has several mysteries going on together for which the reader has to wait for closure. Who is writing the misspelled letters and the 'Senderista' notes? What happened in the 1980's that's related to Mar-May 2000? Who is the serial killer, why are the victims chosen, and why are they murdered in the manner they are? Despite the first murder in the beginning, things get even more difficult and mysterious during the elections and the Holy
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Jan 26, 2012
Ariadna73
rated it:
Este libro me pareci interesante y adictivo. Lo le rapidamente, y me gust mucho el cambio de tono cuando habla el "asesino" y el cambio cuando habla el "detective". La sorpresa al final tambin es interesante aunque un tantico forzada, pero no est del todo mal. En general pienso que es un buen libro y vale la pena leerlo.
Jan 26, 2012
Ariadna73
rated it:
Este libro me pareci interesante y adictivo. Lo le rapidamente, y me gust mucho el cambio de tono cuando habla el "asesino" y el cambio cuando habla el "detective". La sorpresa al final tambin es interesante aunque un tantico forzada, pero no est del todo mal. En general pienso que es un buen libro y vale la pena leerlo.
Aug 07, 2011
Siribes
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Una de las pocas veces en que la obligación "escolar" se ha convertido en placer y en revelación. Interesante retrato de la realidad socio política y de los grupos terroristas. Y no sólo de Perú, porque todos los países han pasado por esta etapa en algún momento.
May 14, 2011
Seingalt
rated it:
Readable enough, but ultimately implausible (the main character's conversations with his dead mother, his transformation) and disappointing. Also struck me as somewhat superficial: a coastal-dweller's look at the Highlands. Two and half stars.
Jul 27, 2011
Theanne
rated it:
An interesting work of modern Latin American literature, a story about a detective in Peru during a resurgence of the national terrorist group "Sendero Luminoso." Definitely an interesting detective novel, good summer read.
Jun 30, 2010
Charles
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I've not read anything set in Peru before, so that part was interesting. I liked the way it played with my expectations about the main character. Fairly violent. A definite condemnation of a lot of things Peruvian.
Oct 20, 2009
Chris
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If you want to be transported to a third-world and experience a life of fear and helplessness and of rituals and blood, Rongcagliolo's April is good read.
Just so you know, it reminded me of Animal's People by Singh.
Just so you know, it reminded me of Animal's People by Singh.
Jul 07, 2009
Don
rated it:
This is a literate thriller, touching on issues of history, corruption, civil war, repression, and guilt. Despite this seemingly heavy load of meaning, it kept me up until 3AM to finish it. Four and one half stars.
Aug 08, 2009
Janice
rated it:
Brutal story set in Peru in April 2000. A deputy prosecuter is assigned a terrible murder case. In the course of his investigation, several people he interviews are also murdered.
Aug 20, 2010
Marcelo
rated it:
Un hombre que nunca hizo nada, tampoco tenía un relacionamiento con nadie. Descubre que él esta dentro de la corrupción del gobierno peruano. Es un buen libro.
