Horacio Castellanos Moya signs copies of Tyrant Memory. Upon its English-language release, The New York Times proclaimed it the author's "most ambitious novel to date."
Megan Higgins-Palomo was also taken with the novel's variety of voices: "I was so interested to hear the story of El Salvador through different perspectives...you don't always get to see history through multiple points of view."
Felipe Palomo
"I like that he has different characters that all talk about this one secret character...You can get into these other characters' lives and points of view and have a better perspective."
Alan Wells found Tyrant Memory calmer than the author's previous efforts: "It is deliberate writing, rather than stream of consciousness. Having read some of his other pieces, it was interesting to hear a different angle... He'll be missed."
Tayfun Gol hoped to hear Castellanos Moya's take on American support of El Salvador's government: "In the 1980s El Salvador suffered a huge humanitarian crisis through the military support of the imperialist United States..."
Lisa Kuzma praised Castellanos Moya's timing: "It's great that there was so much suspense...In all three sections he read, he stopped at just the right point that you wanted to hear more."
José Henríquez, a fellow Salvadoran, noted that Tyrant Memory had given his home country international exposure: "He’s recreating some parts of Salvadoran history in a way that can be shared with communities all over the world."
Castellanos Moya reads three selections from Tyrant Memory, which revolves around the 1944 military coup and subsequent strike against Salvadoran dictator Maximiliano Hernández Martínez.
Henry Reese introduces Castellanos Moya, praising his unique sense of humor and decidedly unsentimental temperament.
On Wednesday, July 27, former writer in residence Horacio Castellanos Moya bid Pittsburgh farewell with a reading from Tyrant Memory, his newest novel to be translated into English. The City of Asylum-sponsored event, which roughly 140 people attended, was followed by a Q&A and a book signing, during which participants had the opportunity to exchange one-on-one goodbyes. Castellanos Moya, who will begin teaching at the University of Iowa this fall, noted in his speech that such a large send-off was, for him, a new experience. “Most of the time, when I leave a city, I just escape,” he said.
