Genesis

In jazz, the Real Book is the standard book of standards, where each song takes up one page, sometimes two. Here in “Genesis” Eduardo Galeano follows a similar layout, but rather than sheet music for popular songs, it is condensed history of the Americas. This is the first of three volumes in his Memory of Fire trilogy. The first part of this volume is only about a fifth of the whole. It begins with pre-Columbian myths, and with the history that follows, is neither fiction nor nonfiction. 1492-1700 are the years, up to the near-present by the end of the trilogy. Not everything happens in South America nor is even limited to the Western hemisphere: certain momentous occasions in Europe fit in the timeline as well. I found that if you only read one or two of these one-page stories at a time, it is not easy to follow, and perhaps a little too disconnected for one book. However, this is unlike anything I’ve ever read, and for a serious student of Latin American history, Galeano’s work is classic. Keep an eye out for these e-books, as they are sometimes on sale for significant discounts.