The jaguar smile

Unlike his fictional novels, The Jaguar Smile by Salman Rushdie does not get a lot of press... and why is that? Is it a plot by the CIA dogs to suppress information on Nicaragua? Is it communist apologetica? Does it just plain suck? The answer to all three questions is, no, quit being silly.

The Jaguar Smile is not a novel, but a journalistic account of Rushdie's visit to Nicaragua to ascertain what the deal was with the Sandinistas and why Reagan wanted to crush them (spoiler alert: it's because Reagan is a douche-bag). As such, it does not carry the stylistic writings seen in Rushdie's other works... and which may be why people read Rushdie to begin with.

Combined with a much simpler writing style, this book does not portray the Sandinistas as blood-thirsty jungle guerrillas seeking to establish Stalinism in Central America. The reason for this is simply because they weren't any of those things. They seem to me to have more in common with the Spanish Socialist Party of the Second Republic of Spain, but I digress. A lot of Americans demand that anyone who is labeled a communist is portrayed in an Orwellian manner, otherwise you're a commie-sympathizer.

But how is Rushdie's viewpoint? Is it balanced? Rushdie is very clear on his position and includes some critical condemnation of Sandinistan policy (principally the closure of the newspaper La Prensa). He is mostly favorable to the post-revolution Nicaragua and sees in it a potential for a people to build a nation for themselves after decades of tyrannical exploitation.

Overall, this book is a snapshot into the political climate of Nicaragua during the first reign of the Sandinistas. It is somewhat informative, but also simple and serves as a great introduction to Nicaragua as a modern nation.