Ain't nothing better than a good ole' literary story...

It’s been a while since I read a book by an author that made me want to trawl through the seams of Amazon search results to find others written by the same writer. Carlos Ruiz Zafon, is one of those traditional authors, you know the sort that make you want to stay gripped onto the pages of the book whilst his powerful writing technique guides you through the dizzying twists and unbeknown turns of a novel set in the early-mid twentieth century. He is one of those unusual authors of modern day who incorporates the traditional elements of literature: the haunting Gothic mystery, the passion of young love seemingly complimented by a captivating narrative, whilst he also aims to the highly critical modern day market sprinkling in drops of fantasy and magic, that nowadays seem a paramount aspect of novels that ‘’make it big’’.

My journey into Zafon’s world of a Barcelona with cobbled streets, hidden antique bookshops, shadowy figures from fantasy stories, mysteriously disappearing authors and a politically entrenched Catalan society, began more than 2 years ago with my first purchase being ‘the shadow of the wind’. From the first page of the story which described the sky of Catalonia being overtaken by the sun like ‘liquid copper’, Zafon struck me as a different author. One that unlike many of our day was committed to providing the reader with a traditionally rich, atmospheric imagery, allowing them to truly sense the Barcelona he was portraying. This vivid imagery is present in all of Zafon’s novels that I have read, and is an aspect of his writing that never fails to engross me into the pages of his stories.

Another trait of Zafon’s novels is their historical significance. Although being literary fiction, each of his works is filled with references to the historical time period in which the tales are set, giving the reader a historical context which is portrayed in a lightly humoured notion through the character of: Fermin Romero De Torres, a essentially comedy centered character full of crude wit, who is pragmatically a symbol of republican/socialist struggle in the cemetery of forgotten books cycle. In the 3^rd installment of this cycle of stories we see the historical theme more embedded than ever, as Carlos transports us to the political jails of the fascist regime who kept everyone from authors and the common ‘rebel’ locked up to as to eradicate existence from a increasingly controlled Spanish society. Despite being works of fiction, it is still possible to gain some sort of historical understanding from fiction such as this. As 'To kill a mockingbird' is a reflection of early 19th century race relations in the US, 'Oliver Twist and Great expectations' are set in the cobbles of Victorian England and Bronte's 'wuthering heights' is a reflection of British Yorkshire, Ruiz Zafon could someday be the author renown for his stories centered in Fascist Spain. 

 From Senor Barcelo to Sempere the bookshop, to the troubled, fire stricken, faceless author Julian Carax, the hugely witty Fermin and of course the protagonist Daniel, you can’t help but feel an attachment to the characters in Zafon’s novels. They truly are characters that will stay with you forever as you read all the books in the cycle, you end up making links from one book to another, links you would never have thought, making the plots of the series as a whole, one of great complexity, yet one simple enough to keep you wanting more. Another incredible factor in the series by Zafon is the freedom to read the cycle of books, following the life, love and tribulations of Daniel from the very beginning of his life,  following and piecing the jigsaw of his life backwards or simply starting from the middle with ‘the angels game’ and following the creative writing processes of David Martin

and his nemesis Correlli. Whichever way you decide to read this cycle of books, one thing is certain, like every captivating series writing author, everything will tie together at the end like the final piece being put into a seemingly difficult jigsaw puzzle to which you were also required to find the pieces. The beauty with Carlos Ruiz Zafon however is that you could start by finding two pieces of jigsaw in one book and ten in another but still managing to capture the complete image, all depending on how you decide to approach the cycle.

To conclude, this is 21^st century literature at it’s finest, with this particular cycle of books being suitable for both young adults and adults. Zafon has also written a range of novellas for the younger child reader, a prominent one I read recently being ‘the watcher in the shadows’-full to the brim with fantasy, fear, a mysterious toymaker and his never to be seen wife, rooms filled with eerie dolls, flying automobiles and some ghostly doppelgangers the story follows two young children Ismael and Irene in a dangerous adventure they are caught up in. Although they weren’t originally written in English, don’t let this put you off as I can tell you the translations are utterly beautiful. His next novel to be released in the UK is a break from the shadow of the wind cycle and is the Spanish bestseller ‘Marina’ a gothic novel which I am extremely excited for. So as you can tell, I have bucket loads of praise for Carlos Ruiz Zafon as a writer and would recommend you to read his novels if you like a good ole’ story. I started by reading ‘The shadow of the wind’. If you have already read the/a novel by this author, please do share with me your opinions of it, via leaving me a message on here or on twitter/tumblr/the student room. If you are going to read it after this, again you can let me know what you think of it.

Eva Peron, the face of Argentina

''Evita'', they lovingly called her. Hundreds and thousands of mourners following her adorned coffin on the streets of Argentina. But who was she? After reading much about popular South American figures such as Che Guevara, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, I was intrigued to discover another figure intertwined with the socialist politics and revolutionary blood of Latin America, a woman who was in touch with the majority of the Hispanic population, who's philanthropic gestures sent calls to the vatican for her to be canonized (sainted).
Eva Peron, sounds like a ready made name full of power, airing revolution to some, yet her physical portrayal is of elegance yet a tough stature. Yet she was almost like the sweetheart of Argentina, their version of Princess Diana. Growing up in a family of illegitamacy and a family in deep poverty, Eva traveled to Buenos Aires to make a name for herself as an actress and a radio star, her most popular radio impersonation being that of the mistress of Napoleon Bonaparte. However it was her acts of 1944 that propelled her as a household name in Argentina. She married popular politician Juan Peron. Together they were to make a formidable couple, touching the hearts of the nation and introducing the ever popular ideology of Peronism into the Latin continent.
Eva was the first political wife to make an appearance in public with her politican husband and in 1946 she was an avid election campaigner alongside her husband, attending speeches, rallies, loyalty poured out from her. Through her position she met highly influential figures and heads of states, she used these opportunities of meeting the Pope and the Prince of Monoco, to reach out to the people of her country. On one famous incident she declared of her husbands presidency ''we are fighting to have less rich people and less poor people''. Although critiscised for her fashion sense by Europeans, Eva now became 'Evita' to more adoring Argentinians who hoped for more social welfare support from the now influential lady who was once a poverty stricken youngster herself.
After her husband's election, Evita became a strong advocate for women's rights and shortly after gaining her posiiton a bill was passed to give women the vote. This not only escalated Evita's popularity amongst the poor in the nation but also amongst the entire continent amongst women who related to her and adored her, believing they had Evita to thank for the historic developments.
Following this Evita only gained more popularity with her followers as she devoted herself to the setting up of the ''Eva Peron foundation'' which provided social help to the less fortunate providing charitable works such as the provision of shoes, cooking pots and sewing machines. It is said that Evita worked 20 hours a day at the foundation putting every ounce of effort into the running, distribution and help, never forgetting her roots, this maintenance continued up until her dieing days despite doctor's warnings about her health deteriorating.
Close before she tragically passed away Eva wished to become vice president alongside her president husband, she certainly had the support to do so from the Argentine public, however pressure from the upper classes in the country and the military combined with the factor of her own health deteriorating quashed her desires.
Eva had been diagnosed with cancer and her health was worse for wear at the time she wished to become vice president. In 1952, she recieved the ''spiritual leader of the nation'' award, confirming to the public that their idiolised Argentine sweetheart was dying. The nation subsequently prepared for it's loss and shortly after, Evita died aged just 33 leaving her joint Peronist legacy (Kristina Kirchner is now a Peronist)  in both social life and political runnings. Her funeral was attended by hundreds of thousands and her body displayed skilfully embalmed for a while. However after a military coup by opposition to her husband's regime her body was removed and spent years in an unknown place. However the body was eventually recovered in Spain with blows to the head, back, face and knee, Juan Peron's 3rd wife then repatriated the body back to Argentina and now lies fortified.
To conclude, Eva Peron was a humanitarian angel to Argentinians who viewed her as a 'saint' due to her contributions to the poor in society and her efforts and help towards social justice and womens rights. There are stories of her stopping her presidential limousine and helping stranded poverty stricken women on the street, and even of her handing out money quite recklessly as some would suggest. However it's fair to say that Eva was genuinly concerned with the social state of her country and wanted to help people like herself in any way possible. But, was there any political motive? And why to some have such a intrigue with Evita and
her actions? Perhaps it's the fact like so many revolutionary figures she died young-like Che Guevara.

Hugo Chavez, Latin America's socialist warrior or anti western tyrant?

Hugo Chavez, a now widely recognized face of Latin socialism uttered his last (potentially pragmatically symbolic) words on the fifth of March 2013. 'I don't want to die'. With stark similarity to left wing anti capitalist hero to many, Che Guevara, it is slightly ironic to how the two died, both seeming to inhabit in them a hard fighters Hispanic spirit which guided them firm to their aims throughout their iconic yet plausibly controversial lives. But what is it that made Hugo Chavez in particular a household name as a hero for many yet a anti Western, raving mad, conspiracy theorist to others?

First let us take a look at his 'hero' side, a side that interested me from the start. How many heads of states do we see in the modern day handing out relief packages to the poor (and so many of them) to the extent that Chavez did? Born into a relatively poverty stricken family himself, it was presumably his own roots that led him to take the stance he stood for in his politics. Chavez's journey to the top of the politics tree wasn't exactly a straightforward one. After a failed coup to oust the then president of Venezuela in 1992, Chavez was imprisoned. He took this opportunity to explain himself on national TV, which enabled him to gain his first loyal followers who sympathized with his situation. After creating secret societies such as the
Movimiento Bolivariano Revolucionario during his time in the military, Hugo Chavez evolved his own brand of socialism, labelled 'bolivarism' after Venezuelan Simon Bolivar who fought to rid spanish rule of South America. In 1998, after already gaining a small following of economically less well off Venezuelans, Chavez won a landlside election and became president for the first time. After his election was when he started to implement some of his Bolivar inspired policies, main things that Chavez incorporated in his policies for the genuine good including nationalising the industries within Venezuela and using the booming oil revenues (thanks to Venezuela having one of the largest oil supplies in the world) to accomodate some of the most generous welfare packages ever seen for the poor in the country. These welfare reforms included healthcare, setting up of medical facilities, education, improving literacy skills amongst those in greatest poverty. In fact official figures show that poverty rate since Chavez was elected  decreased as in 1999, 23.4% of the population was recorded as being in extreme poverty, this fell to 8.5% in 2011 according to official government figures and infant mortality also decreased thanks to the new and improved healthcare and infrastructure in the country. Another key success achieved by Chavez was the fall of the unemployment rate which dropped by almost half from 15% to around 7%. With the continued reforms and handouts to the masses of poor in the society it is of no doubt that Hugo Chavez became such a loved and revered hispanic figure amongst much of the South American continent, not just Venezuela. He was part of a wider new leftist South American front. To ordinary Venezuelans, Chavez was a relatable figure, with his charismatic presence and latin revolutionary blood.
On the other hand, there is no shortage of people who believe that Chavez was the contrary to what lower class venezuelans think. To some he was a tyrant, a revolutionary figure who was a pain in the back of 'capitalist western societies'. But why do many hold this opinion? Firstly it's important to note that not all venezuelans viewed Chavez in such a positive light, to some of the middle class and the minority upper class, he was a terrible economist who had inflated the economy and trade extremely badly due to his 'reckless handouts'. Those upper and middle classes also blame Chavez for enforcing tight restrictions on press and enforcing pretty harsh sentences for crimes such as slander, even abusing human rights in some cases.  For the west, he was a potential dictator, after passing a decree that allowed him to run for election (pretty much all the time) he was seen as a tyrant and controller, who openely followed the lead of fellow socialist figure-Fidel Castro by befriending possible 'unstable' countries such as Iran, Cuba and Nicaragua. His views were so anti imperialist against the west that he even took it upon himself to publically label George Bush a ''burro'' or a ''donkey''. This to me is extremely comical!
Aside from the for and against Chavez argument, it can be concluded that Hugo Chavez was not only a controversial force for good in terms of providing welfare basics for the people of his country, but whatever your personal opinion of him, i'm sure you can agree that he was one of the most charismatic leaders that the world has ever seen. Some of his more 'debatable' slash 'ludicrous' claims are as follows:

-Senor Chavez was not a fan of coke zero. He claimed that the drink was invented by the Americans as an imperialist indoctrination tool to make venezuelans drink fizzy drinks so that they would become fat and ultimately be unable to fight if it came to all out guerilla war. Slightly strange that he didn't ban any other fizzy drinks. 
-Chavez also didn't think it was good for children to be frightened by ghosts and skeletons on halloween as he again believed consumerist halloween were an act of 'imperialist terror' on behalf of the united states. 
-He was also not a fan of golf, claiming that it was a sport of the bourgeoisie, he hated golf so much that he had one of the world's best golf course's shut down. This again is quite ironic as his idol Fidel Castro, adored golf and wanted more golf courses in Cuba. 
-Hugo had his own tv show 'alo presidente' where he basically spoke to himself regarding things such as capitalism taking over life on mars...oh and calling George Bush a donkey.

All in all, he was a charismatic figure wasn't he? 

Other than sporting achievements, how influential was Muhammad Ali?

When thinking of the now renown name Muhammad Ali what springs to mind? The man who famously became 3 time world heavyweight champion beating the likes of Joe Frazier and George Foreman in iconic fights, or the African American Muslim convert who was stripped of his boxing licence after refusing to be conscripted into the US army to fight in the Vietnam war?

Although Ali was widely known for both these things, did he actually do anything of great influence in a way that was not related to sport? Known for his highly acclaimed "trash talk" before and after fights, there is no denying that Ali was a highly exuberant character who spoke his mind as well as what seemed his heart. His charismatic nature and boyish charm to some certainly had a part to play in his newfound popularity with the masses as well as perhaps his ability to change views yet remain stubborn to his true nature of an arrogant sports star which some of us today may find hugely irritating. However his nature of flying like a 'butterfly' and 'stinging like a bee' is still used by many today, as long as some of his other witty sayings. The simple fact that his quotes and poetic sayings are still used widely today in itself shows what a creator of words he was, with his bouncy, rythmic style of constructing sentences to intimidate opponents and journalists as well as humour foreign media (especially British) was what appealed to many people; his human nature shined through the tough light hopping exterior he displayed. Making him seriously one of the most influential and memorable figures of the 1960s.
Ali became a member of the Nation of Islam (a religious group previously known for it's black supremacist stance) in the year 1964. His conversion ignited a flame amongst journalists who refused to call the boxer by his adopted name, instead referring to him as 'Cassius' (his 'slave name' as he referred to it after'). His entry to this group quickly propelled his career into further spotlight making him one of the most controversial popular figures in the world. There is no doubt that his decision had made him host to hostility and perhaps a little suspiciousness from the American public and media alike due to the fact that at the time the group was renown as being the group of Malcolm X, a previously well known black supremacist.However a few years after Ali distanced himself from the NOI and delved himself within the more moderate Sunni Islam practice.

Moreover in 1966 when Ali was found eligible to be able to conscript into the US army for war against Vietnam, it was his refusal to conscript that brought attention to the headline grabber, arguing that ''War is against the teachings of the holy quran''. Whatever his religious beliefs, it was a shock to many that someone actually had the nerve to say no. A African American Muslim said no to joining a war and this left ordinary white Americans astounded. His quotes from this time period were the catalysts in flaring many anti war protests and also encouraging famous civil rights activist Martin Luther King, in declaring his position famousley against the Vietnam war. The plain fact that Ali's actions inspired one of the greatest freedom inspirers of all time to declare his position is in itself a action which shows the depths that Muhammad Ali's influence went

.

''Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?''

''No, I am not going 10,000 miles to help murder, kill, and burn other people to simply help continue the domination of white slavemasters over dark people the world over. This is the day and age when such evil injustice must come to an end ''

Although his quotes and speeches may seem extremely human rights friendly to you and I, Ali was later arrested for draft evasion and stripped of his title and boxing licence to not box again for over 3 years after only 21 minutes of a court deliberation. The sole fact that Ali had the nerve to say such things could be seen as a brave act for days where discrimination was rife however it could be said that the actions of Muhammad Ali have inspired not only future sports stars, but people in general. The whole idea to be passionate about what you believe in and have no fear. Moreover the Ali effect is still practiced today with many claiming: ''i only said i was the greatest, not the smartest''.