Operación Masacre is a nonfiction novel of investigative journalism

Investigative journalism

Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...

, written by noted Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 and author Rodolfo Walsh

Rodolfo Walsh

Rodolfo Jorge Walsh was an Argentine writer, considered the founder of investigative journalism. He is most famous for his Open Letter from a Writer to the Military Junta which he wrote the day before his murder, protesting that their economic policies were having an even greater effect on...

. It is considered by some to be the first of its genre. It was published in 1957

1957 in literature

The year 1957 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Lawrence Durrell publishes the first volume of The Alexandria Quartet. The final of the four volumes will be published in 1960....

, nine years before the publication of Truman Capote

Truman Capote

Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...

's In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood is a 1966 book by Truman Capote.In Cold Blood may also refer to:* In Cold Blood , a 1967 film and 1996 miniseries, both based on the book* In Cold Blood...

, a book often credited as the first major nonfiction novel of investigative journalism.

Synopsis

The novel details the Jose León Suárez massacre, which involved the 1956 capture and shooting of Peronist

Peronism

Peronism , or Justicialism , is an Argentine political movement based on the programmes associated with former President Juan Perón and his second wife, Eva Perón...

 militants, including rebel leader Juan José Valle

Juan José Valle

Juan José Valle was an Argentine military who headed a rebellion in 1956 against General Aramburu's dictatorship....

. These events followed a 1955 military coup

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

, known as the Revolución Libertadora

Revolución Libertadora

The Revolución Libertadora was a military uprising that ended the second presidential term of Juan Perón in Argentina, on September 16, 1955.-History:...

, which deposed Argentine president

President of Argentina

The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...

 Juan Perón

Juan Perón

Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...

 and eventually brought the hard-line general Pedro Eugenio Aramburu

Pedro Eugenio Aramburu

Pedro Eugenio Aramburu Silveti was an Argentine Army General. Born in Río Cuarto, Córdoba on May 21, 1903. He was a major figure behind the military coup against Juan Perón in 1955. He became de facto president of Argentina from November 13, 1955 to May 1, 1958...

 to power.

History

Walsh received a tip-off about the secret operation in December 1956, while he was playing chess in a café. Operación Masacre was originally published in May–July 1957 as a series of articles in the journal Mayoría, where it was subtitled "A book without publisher" as an indication of the problems Walsh had had securing an outlet for his story. These articles were later re-written into the novel form that became the book Operación Masacre.

Reception and criticism

Literary critic Ángel Rama

Ángel Rama

Ángel Rama was a Uruguayan writer, academic, and literary critic, known for his work on modernismo and for his theorization of the concept of "transculturation."-Biography:...

 described Operación Masacre as a "police novel

Crime fiction

Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...

 for the poor." The novel explores themes of violence that are not only unexpected, but are also unpunished, although Pedro Eugenio Aramburu would ultimately be executed in 1970 by the Peronist Montoneros

Montoneros

Montoneros was an Argentine Peronist urban guerrilla group, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The name is an allusion to 19th century Argentinian history. After Juan Perón's return from 18 years of exile and the 1973 Ezeiza massacre, which marked the definitive split between left and right-wing...

 for his role in the José León Suárez massacre.

Daniel Link argues that the book "destabilizes literary genres" and anticipates what would later be called testimonial fiction. This form of writing has proven to be problematic to some literary analysts because some have seen the need to match the documented historical narrative with the events in the literary text itself, leading to challenges of verification for those seeking proof of historical accuracy and reliability.

Film adaptation

Operación Masacre was adapted into a 1973

Argentine films of 1973

A list of films produced in Argentina in 1973:-1973:-External links and references:* at the Internet Movie Database...

 film by director and writer Jorge Cedrón, starring Norma Aleandro

Norma Aleandro

Norma Aleandro Robledo is an Argentine actress and screenwriter, born in Buenos Aires to Pedro Aleandro and María Luisa Robledo, both actors. Her sister, María Vaner, was a famous actress in Argentina.- Life and career :...

, Carlos Carella, Víctor Laplace

Víctor Laplace

Víctor Laplace is an acclaimed Argentine film actor. He has appeared in over 80 films since 1970, such as Eva Perón and Un Amor en Moisés Ville in 2001, as well as extensive local and international theatre credits.-Filmography:#Detrás del sol, más cielo - Antón#Angelelli, la...

, Ana María Picchio

Ana María Picchio

Ana María Picchio is an Argentine actress.She made her debut in 1969 in the film Breve cielo and has made over 50 appearances in film and TV to date.She starred in Adios Roberto in 1985.-External links:...

and Julio Troxler.