Truce

Mario Benedetti differs significantly from those who formed the core of the new Latin American novel. Against a backdrop of fireworks of mythic prose and magical realism, his matter-of-fact, muted, and fundamentally anti-romantic prose—with everyday heroes and old-fashioned psychologism—creates that artistic philosophy of history which is the main achievement and contribution of the Latin American novel to the world culture of the 20th century. Mario Benedetti created his own version of modern realism.

The hero of “A Moment of Rest,” a typical man from Montevideo, is waiting for retirement. He wants to forget numbers and see “a different sky.” No, he won’t run anywhere, won’t rebel—he’ll go to a café, wash down bitterness and irritation with a cup of coffee. In front of us is the psychopathology of an alienated and deceived person. A “circle of deception” defines the system of relationships here between clerks and bosses, husbands and wives, friends and acquaintances, children and parents. The pure sound of human drama is constantly interrupted by a crackling, a tango melody about “a broken love,” “a lost life.” Can such a hero do anything at all?

With “A Moment of Rest,” Benedetti recorded only the possibility of change.

The person in the dimension of a flowing life—not a capital “Man,” but an average man, the kind through whom history is made with all its contradictions, dramas, and tragedies. To him, Benedetti asks the question of our time—about human possibilities, about humanism, and therefore about the future of humankind. Can today’s small, even petty person become a new person? Can he—or can’t he—meet the ideals and demands that our time sets? Benedetti creates a panorama of the historical existence of Uruguayans and Uruguay itself, changing along with his country and following its history.

A theme relevant in an era of change and unrest for all peoples and countries.

The film adaptation of the novel “A Moment of Rest” (La tregua) was nominated for the 1975 “Oscar” and also won the “Amarcord” award by Federico Fellini.