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Sztuka politycznego morderstwa, czyli kto zabił biskupa
Pewnej niedzielnej nocy 1998 roku biskup Juan Gerardi, założyciel i dyrektor Gwatemalskiego Archidiecezjalnego Biura Praw Człowieka, jeden z najważniejszych i najbardziej znanych rzeczników i przywódców Kościoła katolickiego, został śmiertelnie pobity w garażu przy plebani kościoła św. Sebastiana w starym centrum miasta Gwatemala. Dwa dni wcześniej razem ze współpracownikami przedstawił opinii publicznej wstrząsający czterotomowy raport, dokumentujący długotrwałe śledztwo w sprawie zbrodni popełnionych w czasie trzydziestoletniej wojny domowej, która pochłonęła w sumie około dwustu tysięcy ofiar. W raporcie winą za osiemdziesiąt procent zbrodni obarczano wojsko i wspierające je organizacje paramilitarne. Śledztwo w sprawie śmierci biskupa prowadził specjalny zespół, w którego skład weszli młodzi świeccy mężczyźni zwani Los Intocables, Nietykalnymi. Przez dziewięć lat Francisco Goldman śledził ich starania o wykrycie sprawców i doprowadzenie ich przed oblicze sprawiedliwości. Rozmawiał z wieloma związanymi ze sprawą osobami, do których nie udało się dotrzeć żadnemu innemu reporterowi.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
121 people are currently reading
2070 people want to read
About the author
Francisco Goldman
24 books197 followersFrancisco Goldman is an American novelist, journalist, and 'maestro', at Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), the journalism school for Latin-America created by Gabriel García Márquez. Goldman is also known as Francisco Goldman Molina, "Frank" and "Paco".
He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Guatemalan mother and Jewish-American father. His first novel, The Long Night of White Chickens (1992), won the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, and his second, The Ordinary Seaman (1997), was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and The Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and was short-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He currently resides in Mexico City and Brooklyn, New York. He also teaches at Trinity College (Connecticut).
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Guatemalan mother and Jewish-American father. His first novel, The Long Night of White Chickens (1992), won the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, and his second, The Ordinary Seaman (1997), was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and The Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and was short-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He currently resides in Mexico City and Brooklyn, New York. He also teaches at Trinity College (Connecticut).
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
March 16, 2014
Three stars isn't really accurate, though. I'd give this one between a 2.5 - 3 for the writing - it felt cumbersome and overwritten (if I were Goldman's editor, red ink would be bleeding through these pages). It's a complicated story-line and Goldman didn't do the best job of narrating in a way that made it any less complicated. He jumped from character to character, story-arc to story-arc, in ways that just made it even more difficult to follow. And holy crap, the characters in this book. He did provide a summary at the end, but I couldn't keep the players straight most of the time. I felt like I was reading One Hundred Years of Solitude.
However, I'll give this book between a 4 and a 4.5 for the content, because I learned a whole hell of a lot about how throughly corrupt Guatemala is, and how much the US has aided that corruption throughout history. I can't stop thinking about specific images, gruesome images, of violence so horrible it's hard to comprehend. As someone who generally thinks that most people in the world are good, I have to admit that reading this book makes me question that (and my naivety).
However, I'll give this book between a 4 and a 4.5 for the content, because I learned a whole hell of a lot about how throughly corrupt Guatemala is, and how much the US has aided that corruption throughout history. I can't stop thinking about specific images, gruesome images, of violence so horrible it's hard to comprehend. As someone who generally thinks that most people in the world are good, I have to admit that reading this book makes me question that (and my naivety).
June 9, 2024
An outspoken bishop in Guatemala is beaten to death in his garage, and a group of young citizens (rather than the "authorities") take it upon themselves to investigate his murder.
Chilling and well-organized, Goldman's book provides insights into the perils of US foreign-policy, as well as life on the ground in Central America. Reading about US foreign policy, and what it can mean, for real people living in a neighborhood, is not for the faint hearted.
Chilling and well-organized, Goldman's book provides insights into the perils of US foreign-policy, as well as life on the ground in Central America. Reading about US foreign policy, and what it can mean, for real people living in a neighborhood, is not for the faint hearted.
July 7, 2018
- 1a lectura -
Es brutal la cantidad de información volcada por este libro, pero más brutal y revelador es el hecho de cómo la impunidad se ha instaurado en todo el sistema de justicia guatemalteco.
-2a lectura -
La primera vez que lo leí me pareció un libro impresionante, por su contenido como por su realización. Pero al releerlo tuvo otro impacto, menos dramático y morboso, más analítico, al volver a repasar las estructuras de poder instaladas en el gobierno, cómo se protegen a favor de la impunidad, aún a costa de realizar crímenes terribles y acciones de lo más inhumanas. Es una lectura emocionalmente fuerte, de narración cruda, pero necesaria para poder entender, aunque sea una parte, la política actual guatemalteca.
Es brutal la cantidad de información volcada por este libro, pero más brutal y revelador es el hecho de cómo la impunidad se ha instaurado en todo el sistema de justicia guatemalteco.
-2a lectura -
La primera vez que lo leí me pareció un libro impresionante, por su contenido como por su realización. Pero al releerlo tuvo otro impacto, menos dramático y morboso, más analítico, al volver a repasar las estructuras de poder instaladas en el gobierno, cómo se protegen a favor de la impunidad, aún a costa de realizar crímenes terribles y acciones de lo más inhumanas. Es una lectura emocionalmente fuerte, de narración cruda, pero necesaria para poder entender, aunque sea una parte, la política actual guatemalteca.
December 28, 2015
Oscar Romero wasn't the only bishop of the Roman Catholic Church murdered by those most likely working for the entrenched oligarchy in modern Central America. But while Romero was killed while saying Mass in San Salvador, a shocking event that drew headlines around the world, Bishop Juan Gerardi was beaten and left for dead on the floor of his garage. A group of dedicated and courageous young men and women, realizing that the crime would go not only unpunished but would be barely investigated by the police, decided to solve it themselves. This lead them into a shadowy world of vicious street gangs, corrupt police and military leadership and shocking revelations about how post-civil war Guatemala is really run.
April 13, 2011
Thoroughly researched and insightful, this is, by far, the best book that I have read on contemporary Guatemala. Beyond the analysis of the case itself, it is a window into the structures of corruption, deception and power that continue to hold the country hostage to this day.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of reading this account is, for me, walking the streets of Guatemala and seeing some of the most powerful characters represented as leading candidates for the upcoming elections. That the process can tolerate their presence is a measure of how deeply-rooted Guatemala's problems are, and how much work is still needed if it is to become a truly free and democratic country.
However, there is a hopeful aspect to this story as well: it is heartening to read about the truly courageous young Guatemalan activists, lawyers, judges and journalists who risk everything in the pursuit of truth and justice. It is with individuals like these that hope for the future rests.
This is an absolute must-read for anyone attempting to make sense of the patterns of violence that surround those of us living here.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of reading this account is, for me, walking the streets of Guatemala and seeing some of the most powerful characters represented as leading candidates for the upcoming elections. That the process can tolerate their presence is a measure of how deeply-rooted Guatemala's problems are, and how much work is still needed if it is to become a truly free and democratic country.
However, there is a hopeful aspect to this story as well: it is heartening to read about the truly courageous young Guatemalan activists, lawyers, judges and journalists who risk everything in the pursuit of truth and justice. It is with individuals like these that hope for the future rests.
This is an absolute must-read for anyone attempting to make sense of the patterns of violence that surround those of us living here.
March 21, 2019
Be forewarned: "The Art of Political Murder" is a thinking man's page-turner. Although author Frank Goldman's novel has a plot too thick for some readers, that is the point: the nature of crime in Guatemala, especially politically-motivated crime, is complicated and opaque. This is why whodunits are more interesting for their descriptions of the intellectual authors of murders instead of the guy who pulled the trigger. And nothing could ring more true when it concerns murder in Guatemala.
"The Art of Political Murder" is a template for understanding similarly-motivated crimes, whether in Central America or elsewhere. It is also a cautionary tale for those naive enough to believe that the rule of law prevails there.
"The Art of Political Murder" is a template for understanding similarly-motivated crimes, whether in Central America or elsewhere. It is also a cautionary tale for those naive enough to believe that the rule of law prevails there.
May 6, 2013
Es uno de los mejores libros de investigación que he leído. Yo estaba en Guatemala cuando asesinaron a Gerardi y recuerdo muy bien los comentarios en los periódicos al respecto de este caso, tal y como lo describe F. Goldman. Habían algunas dudas que me habían quedado al principio del libro que se resolvieron de manera sutil al final del mismo. Me gustó mucho la descripción y narrativa del mismo. Se nota que es un libro de investigación seria. Además, es realmente desolador darse cuenta lo que sucede tras bambalinas en un asesinato político en especial en un país como Guatemala.
Lo recomiendo leer.
Lo recomiendo leer.
June 10, 2022
Author investigates the political murder of Guatemalan Bishop Gerardi, a human rights leader (among other things). It’s a griping story unraveling the murky circumstances of the crime and the measures of justice that flowed from it. Guatemala was (and perhaps at least in some sense still is) a dangerous and corrupt criminal enterprise, best avoided.
May 6, 2025
What a page turner! Incredible reporting by Francisco Goldman, on a horrendously fraught case for who h true justice has still yet to be served. What a snapshot in a quite recent decade of Guatemalas post-war political chess game in which violence and corruption still rule in an only slightly more subversive manner with the guise of peaceful reconstruction projected to the international community and the threat of the unabashed militarized state on would be revolutionaries, a threat realized on bishop Gerardi. And what a trio of false blame concocted by the state: the gays, Baloo the German shepherd, and gangs oh my!
July 29, 2008
I have really admired this author ever since I read his first novel, The Long Night of the White Chicken. He writes compassionately and intelligently about Guatemala, his mother's homeland, but always with a tremendous sense of the injustice and abuse that has visited that country for far too many years. This book investigates the 1998 murder of one of Guatemala's prominent Catholic bishops, a human rights defender, directly after a report documenting the abuses of the past two decades was published by a church human rights office which he directed The cast of characters can be confusing, and I was halfway through the book before I realized that there was an appendix listing the characters' names and affiliations. I read this book just before visiting Guatemala again for the 3rd time, and I must say it spooked me a bit. But it is moving and wrenching account of the awful history of this beautiful country.
November 4, 2014
The Guatemalan army killed a Catholic bishop in retaliation for his work against the criminal army. Difficult to imagine how to live in such a corrupt country.
September 1, 2017
Author Francisco Goldman's courageous nine year study of the murder of Guatemala's Human Rights Activist Bishop Juan Gerardi shows the refusal of power addicts, terrified of their own vast emptiness, to harness their avarice. This is a detailed study of planned, orchestrated evil made possible only because of the obedient co-operation of the groomed, the passive and the threatened. It's always like that. A strong reminder to me to speak up when I see injustice or abuse - any time, anywhere. Otherwise, my silence is their permission. Thank you so much, Mr. Goldman.
Eleanor Cowan, author of : A History of a Pedophile's Wife: Memoir of a Canadian Teacher and Writer
Eleanor Cowan, author of : A History of a Pedophile's Wife: Memoir of a Canadian Teacher and Writer
November 11, 2025
A lot of repetition of the facts made this reading slow and boring. My heart is broken, but I am also disgusted. After reading about the atrocities (which I knew all my life, but still is hard to reconcile) my country's government has committed during the last 60+ years with the help of a big other government, makes me wonder one more time, why are we really in this world? Is all it matters power and money?
April 5, 2020
great read and fascinating plot if it were fiction, but a little horrifying reading into the Guatemalan military and justice system and reminding myself that these are true events, crimes, and people. In any case, a well written book!
October 28, 2024
Un libro imperdible, me parece, para los guatemaltecos. Experimenté una mezcla de asombro, incredulidad, profunda tristeza e incluso miedo. Lamentablemente, a pesar de los años, aún quedan muchas piezas sin resolver sobre el asesinato de Monseñor Gerardi, y muchos misterios más, sobre las estructuras políticas/militares corruptas y criminales de Guatemala.
September 13, 2011
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news...
This review originally appeared in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?
Vince Darcangelo, Special to the Rocky
Published September 28, 2007 at midnight
• Nonfiction. By Francisco Goldman. Grove, $25. Grade: A
Book in a nutshell: Guatemala. 1998. Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera, an outspoken critic of the government's history of human rights abuses, is beaten to death inside his church parish house. The murder occurs two days after Gerardi publishes a report documenting Guatemalan military abuses since the 1960s, and the timing of his murder suggests that it was government retaliation.
Novelist Goldman's The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?, his first work of nonfiction, documents the controversial and perilous investigation following Bishop Gerardi's murder - no easy task, as more than a dozen people connected to the case were murdered throughout the investigation. The end result, though, is a sliver of justice that - hopefully - sets the foundation for future human rights progress in Guatemala.
In capturing the nuances of this investigation, Goldman (who has familial ties to Guatemala) has penned an exhaustive tome covering all angles of the case down to the finest detail, even identifying the brand of dog food being fed to an imprisoned German shepherd implicated in the murder. (Yes, a dog was initially implicated in the murder!)
Best tidbit: "The more shocking the crime, it seemed, the more powerful or powerfully connected the criminals, and in Latin America powerful people almost never end up in prison."
Pros: Goldman is like a paleontologist reconstructing a T. Rex from a small handful of fossils, including a few bones tossed in as red herrings. His access to inside information, garnered at great personal risk, provides a thorough account of one of Guatemala's most infamous murders.
Cons: Early on, Goldman throws numerous characters and heavy doses of Guatemalan history at the reader. While this provides excellent cultural context, it's difficult to keep track of all the characters at first, and the back stories and historical asides often come at the expense of the narrative flow.
Final word: Goldman is a journalist's journalist, and the amount of investigative legwork involved in producing this book, and the risks thereof, is staggering. This is an impressive book in its breadth, but it may be a bit daunting in detail for a mass audience.
This review originally appeared in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?
Vince Darcangelo, Special to the Rocky
Published September 28, 2007 at midnight
• Nonfiction. By Francisco Goldman. Grove, $25. Grade: A
Book in a nutshell: Guatemala. 1998. Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera, an outspoken critic of the government's history of human rights abuses, is beaten to death inside his church parish house. The murder occurs two days after Gerardi publishes a report documenting Guatemalan military abuses since the 1960s, and the timing of his murder suggests that it was government retaliation.
Novelist Goldman's The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?, his first work of nonfiction, documents the controversial and perilous investigation following Bishop Gerardi's murder - no easy task, as more than a dozen people connected to the case were murdered throughout the investigation. The end result, though, is a sliver of justice that - hopefully - sets the foundation for future human rights progress in Guatemala.
In capturing the nuances of this investigation, Goldman (who has familial ties to Guatemala) has penned an exhaustive tome covering all angles of the case down to the finest detail, even identifying the brand of dog food being fed to an imprisoned German shepherd implicated in the murder. (Yes, a dog was initially implicated in the murder!)
Best tidbit: "The more shocking the crime, it seemed, the more powerful or powerfully connected the criminals, and in Latin America powerful people almost never end up in prison."
Pros: Goldman is like a paleontologist reconstructing a T. Rex from a small handful of fossils, including a few bones tossed in as red herrings. His access to inside information, garnered at great personal risk, provides a thorough account of one of Guatemala's most infamous murders.
Cons: Early on, Goldman throws numerous characters and heavy doses of Guatemalan history at the reader. While this provides excellent cultural context, it's difficult to keep track of all the characters at first, and the back stories and historical asides often come at the expense of the narrative flow.
Final word: Goldman is a journalist's journalist, and the amount of investigative legwork involved in producing this book, and the risks thereof, is staggering. This is an impressive book in its breadth, but it may be a bit daunting in detail for a mass audience.
March 21, 2008
This is novelist Francisco Goldman's true crime investigation report of his seven years of interviewing and researching the ever stranger labyrinths at whose center is the murder in 1998 of Guatemalan Human Rights Activist Bishop Juan Gerardi, by bludgeoning, in the garage of his Parish. This comes two days after the Bishop and a group of young secular and Church people called The Untouchables formed by the Church has revealed at a press conference the first two volumes of a four volume report on their investigation into the tortures, disappearances and murders of over 200,000 Guatemalan citizens, primarily indigenous peoples, and the forced exodus of over a million refugees. Besides the ubiquitous Central American presences of the CIA and the Israelis, who built a munitions plant for the slaughtering Army, there are youth gangs and organized crime involved in a a series of states-within-states of interlinked corrupt circles of power and extreme brutality.
The book is written in a terse, edge-of-your-set style, laying detail by detail the stones in the walls and steps in the ever descending winding spiraling stairway of this journey into the depths upon depths of the circles within and below circles of an Inferno. Beneath each circle there is another, and another, and another, and-
The book is written in a terse, edge-of-your-set style, laying detail by detail the stones in the walls and steps in the ever descending winding spiraling stairway of this journey into the depths upon depths of the circles within and below circles of an Inferno. Beneath each circle there is another, and another, and another, and-
January 1, 2020
Goldman’s book is one of the best based on on-the-ground reporting I have read. It tells the story of the murder of Guatemala City Auxiliary Bishop Juan José Gerardi in April 1998, two days after the release of the report “Guatemala: Never Again” by the Recovery of Historical Memory Project, which he directed to look into the historic responsibilities for hundreds of thousands of murders during the dirty war that kicked off in 1981 when Efraín Ríos Montt was president and persisted into the mid-nineties. The history of the Bishop’s murder is a fascinating who dunnit why he dunnit. It was very ingeniously conceived and very competently executed and it involved people at the very top of the power structure, including people who continue to be powerful into our own days. Goldman also shows the links between top military and police and the transnational Mara crime syndicates. But he also portrays the good people who strive to bring justice to a land blighted by its lack. It is also very well written. A definitive “READ!”.
November 28, 2010
one of my top five books. this is such an enveloping story - as good as any fictional mystery, chock full of intrigue and populated with extraordinary characters, but as relevant and as beautifully rendered as any journalism i've read. but more than that, it's the story of a team of sharp, dedicated lawyers and investigators who waded their way through a maelstrom of false leads and threats of violence, took on a deeply-entrenched military kleptocracy and managed to do something unprecedented in solving the murder of a tireless human rights advocate and investigator, prosecuting some of the highest level planners and perpetrators, and take a small, but truly meaningful step in the right direction for guatemala's justice system. goldman thoroughly and fairly examines all competing accounts of the crime and does a phenomenal job of tying the episode to the broader history of the country. you can't read this book and not be inspired to dig deeper.
July 26, 2016
Como está de moda, "aprovechando la coyuntura", leí este libro que estaba entre mis muchos pendientes por leer.
Largo y denso, por momentos casi surreal, y narrado magistralmente, me parece que es uno de aquellos libros que todo guatemalteco debe leer. Como todo, se puede o no estar de acuerdo con el autor, pero es importante informarse y ver otras perspectivas.
Mucho que hablar sobre este tema... mi sugerencia es: lean el libro.
Largo y denso, por momentos casi surreal, y narrado magistralmente, me parece que es uno de aquellos libros que todo guatemalteco debe leer. Como todo, se puede o no estar de acuerdo con el autor, pero es importante informarse y ver otras perspectivas.
Mucho que hablar sobre este tema... mi sugerencia es: lean el libro.
December 4, 2007
A well-written account of the 1998 assassination of the auxiliary bishop of Guatemala. Thanks to Annie Harnett for recommending it.
September 1, 2016
More like 3.5.
December 1, 2017
The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?
Francisco Goldman
In, “The Art of Political Murder,” (2007) Francisco Goldman heads to Guatemala to unravel the mysterious murder of a Roman Catholic human rights advocate, Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera. This story gives the reader the construction of a crime and opens a door to a misunderstood country that has a history with anarchy. Goldman also provides an unpunctual indictment to ruthless criminals who were not just behind the murder, but also contributed to an eternity of cruelty.
I’ve always been a fan of the mystery genre with books, but I’ve never read something so real until this book. Goldman succeeds to get me invested with the many characters that all had some sort of involvement with the murder or a connection to someone who contributed to it. Characters who did bad things in the past also had their many reasons for their behavior, and there were characters who seem to be good but also had many things hidden about them which kept me torn throughout the book, trying to figure out who truly was the person involved in the Bishop’s murder.
One thing I enjoyed a lot about this story is how descriptive everything is, like a character’s appearance which helped me envision them or the structure of a building. There are many different perspectives of the night of the Bishop’s murder from different people, but somehow I was still able to feel an atmosphere that was the same for every different side of that story. I also like how, when a character in the book says something in spanish; the author translates it in parentheses. It’s something small and not that big of a deal, but I thought it was really cool how the author still left in the original spanish dialogue, which made the story felt more authentic. It also made me understand the character more and their behavior based on the way they talked, such as, with slang or many swear words.
There was a very descriptive part of the book, that gave me a bit of chills and sweaty palms. This is the violence part of the story. Guatemala has a lot of history with violence, and there was a part of the book that told some of these brutal crimes that’ve been done in the past. In fact, just two days before the Bishop was annihilated, he had released a four-volume report on the civil war that formally ended in 1996. The Bishop made this report hoping it would avoid any more crimes in Guatemala. Yet, his murder turned out to be a crime which is still so crazy to me.
Another point I wanna make was how mysterious this book was, like there was a character multiple people saw the night of a murder; some random shirtless man who I believe was walking away from the parish house (the location of the murder). It was really interesting because some people thought they knew who the man was, but in the end I think he was never identified. Another part that also connects to violence in this story was when one of the killers, Obdulio Villanueva managed to escape prison for a couple of hours to complete the crime. He was serving a sentence for a previous murder. I also think this shows the way the country was run in the past, and how out of order many things were. Crimes were so common back then because they were constantly happening, that I believe that back then hearing that a murderer escaped prison to kill somebody else is very weird and unsettling.
Overall, I thought this book was a very good read, and people who’re interested in nonfiction, crime, or history will really enjoy this story. I don’t read books that often, and this was a story I had to read for school which I don’t really enjoy, but this time I will say that I had a good time reading this book. I’ll give it 4/5 stars because I think it deserves it, and also because I’m just genuinely a very nice person. “The Art of Political Murder” is a memorable and chilling story that’ll leave readers on the edge for sure. While there are factors some people may not understand like the environment of Guatemala or how things were back then or some of the companies mentioned, like ODHA, or being able to keep up with the amount of information, pacing and characters, I do believe that a reader will be able to capture the atmosphere of this book and will be invested with the characters, plot and overall investigation of the murder as well.
Francisco Goldman
In, “The Art of Political Murder,” (2007) Francisco Goldman heads to Guatemala to unravel the mysterious murder of a Roman Catholic human rights advocate, Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera. This story gives the reader the construction of a crime and opens a door to a misunderstood country that has a history with anarchy. Goldman also provides an unpunctual indictment to ruthless criminals who were not just behind the murder, but also contributed to an eternity of cruelty.
I’ve always been a fan of the mystery genre with books, but I’ve never read something so real until this book. Goldman succeeds to get me invested with the many characters that all had some sort of involvement with the murder or a connection to someone who contributed to it. Characters who did bad things in the past also had their many reasons for their behavior, and there were characters who seem to be good but also had many things hidden about them which kept me torn throughout the book, trying to figure out who truly was the person involved in the Bishop’s murder.
One thing I enjoyed a lot about this story is how descriptive everything is, like a character’s appearance which helped me envision them or the structure of a building. There are many different perspectives of the night of the Bishop’s murder from different people, but somehow I was still able to feel an atmosphere that was the same for every different side of that story. I also like how, when a character in the book says something in spanish; the author translates it in parentheses. It’s something small and not that big of a deal, but I thought it was really cool how the author still left in the original spanish dialogue, which made the story felt more authentic. It also made me understand the character more and their behavior based on the way they talked, such as, with slang or many swear words.
There was a very descriptive part of the book, that gave me a bit of chills and sweaty palms. This is the violence part of the story. Guatemala has a lot of history with violence, and there was a part of the book that told some of these brutal crimes that’ve been done in the past. In fact, just two days before the Bishop was annihilated, he had released a four-volume report on the civil war that formally ended in 1996. The Bishop made this report hoping it would avoid any more crimes in Guatemala. Yet, his murder turned out to be a crime which is still so crazy to me.
Another point I wanna make was how mysterious this book was, like there was a character multiple people saw the night of a murder; some random shirtless man who I believe was walking away from the parish house (the location of the murder). It was really interesting because some people thought they knew who the man was, but in the end I think he was never identified. Another part that also connects to violence in this story was when one of the killers, Obdulio Villanueva managed to escape prison for a couple of hours to complete the crime. He was serving a sentence for a previous murder. I also think this shows the way the country was run in the past, and how out of order many things were. Crimes were so common back then because they were constantly happening, that I believe that back then hearing that a murderer escaped prison to kill somebody else is very weird and unsettling.
Overall, I thought this book was a very good read, and people who’re interested in nonfiction, crime, or history will really enjoy this story. I don’t read books that often, and this was a story I had to read for school which I don’t really enjoy, but this time I will say that I had a good time reading this book. I’ll give it 4/5 stars because I think it deserves it, and also because I’m just genuinely a very nice person. “The Art of Political Murder” is a memorable and chilling story that’ll leave readers on the edge for sure. While there are factors some people may not understand like the environment of Guatemala or how things were back then or some of the companies mentioned, like ODHA, or being able to keep up with the amount of information, pacing and characters, I do believe that a reader will be able to capture the atmosphere of this book and will be invested with the characters, plot and overall investigation of the murder as well.
December 1, 2017
The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop by Fransisco Goldman, published in 2007, is a work of many Guatemalan political ordeals. Bishop Juan Gerardi of the San Sebastián church in Guatemala was murdered in the parish house garage. This book provides detailed information about Guatemalan history including politics, government, and military. I really enjoyed this book because it wasn’t just your typical historical fiction book. They talked about Guatemala’s corrupt presidencies, and a whole bunch of other events that I had no clue even happened.
I don’t normally read historical fiction books, so this was definitely a step outside of my comfort zone. Historical fiction is usually pretty uninspiring for me to read because it just sounds like facts written out on a page, but this book was different. The author actually took part in the investigation of the murder. He mentioned that his mother once owned the San Sebastián church before Bishop Gerardi started working there. Goldman traveled from New York, where he lived at the time, to Guatemala to visit and start interviewing people Bishop Gerardi was close to, while making sure to journal everything.
I would have to give this book five stars. The only thing about this book was that there were so many characters and acronyms, so it took me a while to understand what some of the paragraphs were saying, but I feel like if Goldman cut some of the characters out, the book wouldn’t be the same and wouldn’t get its point across as clearly. This book talks about Guatemala’s hardest times and what happened behind the scenes, in which not many people knew went on. If you are looking to challenge yourself within your reading, for an account of a heartfelt story of a murder, and an insight into political corruption, then this is the book for you.
I don’t normally read historical fiction books, so this was definitely a step outside of my comfort zone. Historical fiction is usually pretty uninspiring for me to read because it just sounds like facts written out on a page, but this book was different. The author actually took part in the investigation of the murder. He mentioned that his mother once owned the San Sebastián church before Bishop Gerardi started working there. Goldman traveled from New York, where he lived at the time, to Guatemala to visit and start interviewing people Bishop Gerardi was close to, while making sure to journal everything.
I would have to give this book five stars. The only thing about this book was that there were so many characters and acronyms, so it took me a while to understand what some of the paragraphs were saying, but I feel like if Goldman cut some of the characters out, the book wouldn’t be the same and wouldn’t get its point across as clearly. This book talks about Guatemala’s hardest times and what happened behind the scenes, in which not many people knew went on. If you are looking to challenge yourself within your reading, for an account of a heartfelt story of a murder, and an insight into political corruption, then this is the book for you.
March 7, 2023
The Art of Political Murder recounts the assassination of Bishop Gerardi and the insanely complex web of conspiracy, rumor, cover-up, corruption, and complicity that made investigating who killed the Bishop and why a titanic effort. The Bishop headed an organization that only days before his brutal assassination released a huge report on the hundreds of thousands of atrocities committed by the Guatemalan army, police, and related paramilitaries during the 30 year long civil war.
The story of how the Bishop's murder was investigated and what it revealed demonstrated that the culture of corruption and impunity in Guatemalan politics was still alive and well after the civil war. At times this book is a harrowing experience in its own right, but I think it's necessary for people to learn about it, if only to see how even under the worst circumstances there are a select few still willing to stand up for justice and human rights.
The story of how the Bishop's murder was investigated and what it revealed demonstrated that the culture of corruption and impunity in Guatemalan politics was still alive and well after the civil war. At times this book is a harrowing experience in its own right, but I think it's necessary for people to learn about it, if only to see how even under the worst circumstances there are a select few still willing to stand up for justice and human rights.
October 8, 2018
An incredible work of prose and journalism that takes the chilling murder of Bishop Gerardi and elevates the account above true crime, entering into the psyche of a people. By engaging in individual accounts and the labyrinth of tales people tell themselves and are willing to tell each other a multi-layered, troubling picture arises. The complexity of a society scarred by conflict, conquest, uncertainty, and impunity still manages to bring forth imperfect people willing to fight and troubled people ready to hide their knowledge forever to protect themselves for just a moment longer. The narrative sweeps you through the author’s experiences, discoveries, and ruminations in a way that unifies rather than unravels this complex picture while avoiding the cheap theories and leading the reader to better understand this society through all that remains unsolved and unproven at the end.
June 25, 2024
An in depth look st the murder of a bishop in Guatemala during the times when the military was fighting the peasants on the grounds that they were all communists. The endemic corruption of the police, the military, the political and judicial systems is clearly brought out in the book. Many of those who tried to reform the system fled into exile in fear of their lives. The bishop who was killed was the guiding spirit of a report of the military's actions during what can only be called a civil war. There was little doubt among many who the murderers were, but it took more the ten years to convict them and confirm the sentence. And still, questions about the ultimate authority remain...
The book gives a certain insight into the events in Central America when most of the countries in the region were engaged in the same upheaval.
The book gives a certain insight into the events in Central America when most of the countries in the region were engaged in the same upheaval.
December 22, 2024
This is a fascinating and very detailed account of the bishop’s murder and the history of Guatemalan politics and corruption. The role that the US played in the genocide of the indigenous communities is also highlighted.
The book isn’t for the casual reader of Guatemalan history. And I would suggest grabbing the list of characters in the book (can be found at the end in newer additions) and keeping it handy. There are a lot of players and places to keep track of during the story.
This book also isn’t easy to read. There are very candid descriptions of the torture that took place under the government. And very clearly articulates the US role in funding the corruption. Power, corruption, and ruling by fear. Thank God there are good people in the world who chose to do the right thing and speak up, despite their fear.
Really glad I read this book
The book isn’t for the casual reader of Guatemalan history. And I would suggest grabbing the list of characters in the book (can be found at the end in newer additions) and keeping it handy. There are a lot of players and places to keep track of during the story.
This book also isn’t easy to read. There are very candid descriptions of the torture that took place under the government. And very clearly articulates the US role in funding the corruption. Power, corruption, and ruling by fear. Thank God there are good people in the world who chose to do the right thing and speak up, despite their fear.
Really glad I read this book
January 13, 2022
El primer libro del año; es curioso cómo últimamente me siento tan emocionado con las crónicas: la mezcla de narrativa, historia, testimonio, es algo que me gusta. Este libro es, francamente, algo triste (como todas las crónicas parecen ser [lo que me lleva a la pregunta de si nadie hará crónicas de momentos felices]), pero es también algo esperanzador. La construcción del crimen es adecuada, porque recorres todos los recovecos del asesinato del padre Gerardi, aunque lo que realmente me movió, fue lo de atrás, el contexto histórico del homicidio. Guerra, genocidio, corrupción: algo que tenemos en el mundo pero solemos olvidar con facilidad.
February 28, 2022
This just did not do it for me. There was a horrific murder, a pretty good idea of who did it, and an equally horrific web of lies before anyone was convicted. In a country were 200,000 men women and children were murdered, the death of one man who tried to be honest is in the end one more drop of blood in a huge red ocean. Someone was held accountable for this, but as this book wanders through the evidence the author also tells us that in the prison where murderers are kept they could check out for a day or two or they can go to a brothel within the prison or they can access any vice while incarcerated. Guatemala seems a very good place to avoid.
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