The Inhabited Woman / Gioconda Belli / 1988

The Inhabited Woman / Gioconda Belli / 1988

One of the best racist novels I've read. This is the absolutely gripping story of an upper class Nicaraguan woman who is somewhat abruptly radicalized by leftist guerillas. It's deeply relatable and feminist in the way many upper class women who were the first professional generation in their society is feminist. The issue is there's a side story about a famous female indigenous warrior whose spirit inhabits this white woman's mind as she radicalizes. This premise was so troubling and intriguing I decided to read the book. It's predictably messy with the native woman becoming a bit too connected during the white woman's best sex and acts of violence. Of course, when the protagonist pulls the trigger against an fascist general, it is the native warrior whooping within the white woman who pulls the trigger. That said, the native woman's story felt well researched. This book would be useful in talking about the appropriation of native struggles in revolutionary movements in Latin America. Reminded me of Roque Dalton's intro of Broken Spears. 4/5