Seva y Luis López Nieves. Vida y obra.
(Seva and Luis López Nieves: Life and Works [2 vols. in one])
Colombia: U.S.: Norma. (Colección Cara y cruz). 2006.
184p. illus. ISBN 958-04-9214-X. pap. $12.99. FICTION

This book is divided into two parts. The first part is the rivetingstory (subtitled "The First North American Invasion of Puerto Rico in May 1898") of the destruction of the town of Seva and its inhabitants, who fought bravely against Gen. Nelson Miles's troops during the invasion. The Roosevelt Roads Naval Base now covers the original site, with no trace of what was there. Only one young boy survives to tell the story. Seva comprises a series of documents and photographs gathered by historian Victor Cabañas, who disappeared recently. Cabañas stole pages from Miles's original diaries and in Spain located an original map showing where Seva was. Then he tracked down the last, still fearful, survivor of Seva and recorded his story on 18 cassettes. Cabañas sends those materials and letters to López Nieves, who then reveals this long-hidden and dangerous secret in a letter to his newspaper editor. Originally published in 1983 in a literary supplement, Seva stirred the imagination and passions of readers, writers, reporters, and politicians. The reader is drawn further into the tale, recognizing that events are fictionalized yet contain an emotional truth. In the second part (read by flipping the book and reading from the back), Georgetown University professor Irizarry attempts to classify this fascinating and unusually structured work. For example, she analyzes word usage and handwriting samples. Irizarry concludes that Seva combines many literary traditions—e.g., novel, legend, and myth—and critics quoted here have likened its impact to Orson Welles's famous "War of the Worlds" broadcast in 1938 and Woody Allen's film Zelig (1983), both gripping fiction that test the audience's sense of reality. Historical and cultural notes parallel an up-to-date chronology (1950-2006) of the author's life and works. A movie based on this story will release next summer. Highly recommended for Spanish-language collections that support comparative literature, creative writing, or Latin American studies. [Read a recent interview with Luis López Nieves.—Ed.].—Maureen Beristain, Winspear Business Reference Lib., Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada