Though kaleidoscopic and ambitious in range and form, Weekend in Guatamala offers an exhilarating portrait of a nation and a population in turmoil. Borne in the heat and outrage that followed the 1954 overthrow of the Guatemalan government by U.S. intelligence agencies, Asturias blends many genres to capture the unfolding madness: pitch-black noir, screwball comedy, reportage and historical epic, with a master's touch.Throughout each piece the sound of planes is metonymy for the footsteps of empire, powerful as much in their distant menace as in their immanent destruction. Grand outrage is alloyed with subtle perception and mordant pastiche, and Asturias never loses sight of the people for the politics.

Weekend in Guatemala is a book that defies expectation while delivering all the style and social insight that won Asturias the 1967 Novel Prize for Literature.