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Title: At The Tomb Of The Inflatable Pig: A Riotous Journey Into The Heart Of Paraguay

Author: John Gimlette

Publisher: Arrow Books

One of the ways John Gimlette’s book caught my attention was on a visit to Random House’s website. The front page included a flash animation of bright pink pig balloon floating up the page. At The Tomb Of The Inflatable Pig is published by Arrow Books, a division of Random House. As the subtitle declares At The Tomb Of The Inflatable Pig is “a riotous journey into the heart of Paraguay”.

Over the last few years I’ve gained a certain interest in travel writing. Being European that interest tends to look beyond those borders, and particularly to Asia and South America. As such my first step past random articles was a book following a Canadian’s journey in Japan. At The Tomb Of The Inflatable Pig is my second travel book, following a British man’s experiences in the dark heart of South America that is Paraguay.

It started with the war between Argentina and Britain over the Falkland Islands. Gimlette decided that being a Brit in Argentina was not a great plan, so he crossed the border into Paraguay. There he found a country bordered by Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil, a land locked “island” with borders described by treacherous and hostile territories. Once there Gimlette was drawn in by the way the country and it’s history. With which he initially decided to write a novel based in Paraguay – but soon decided that there was so much colour to the reality that the non-fiction route was the one to take.

During the period the Spanish and Portuguese were slicing up South America between them, Paraguay was where they met their fiercest resistance. Ever since, to some degree, Paraguay has remained untamed. To an extent this has provided an appeal to colonists over the centuries. Travellers from all over the world have looked to Paraguay as an untapped paradise, as some utopian Eden. The result however is that Paraguay remains unconquered, leading to the flipside, and those that regard the country as a hell on Earth.

Paraguay is one of the most under populated countries of the modern world, where most of the land is owned by something like 1% of the population. Most of the population is thereby poor, and concentrated in places like the capital city of Asuncion. With this in mind the book is split into three sections. The first covers Asuncion, where Gimlette has spent most of his time over the years. Then there is a chunk on Eastern Paraguay and The Chaco (the wild, northern, desert territory), which he travels into as he follows the various stories of this nation. Throughout this journey there is a view of contemporary Paraguay, which is most evident in the Asuncion section. But at each step he covers the history and each of the characters who have shaped the history and earned Gimlette’s fascination.

Of the characters the ones that crop up the most are Francisco Lopez/Eliza Lynch, Stroessner, and Mengele. As well as a host of those visiting over the years, leaving their own documentary trails. If there is one down side to At The Tomb Of The Inflatable Pig, it is the way that the stories becomes disjointed at times – Gimlette providing each development in relation to the latest place he visits, rather than a linear narrative. Which can make it difficult at times to keep track as he switches between Paraguayan dictators and German colonists, or in turn who the source of each new thread was.

Francisco Lopez was part of a family that ruled Paraguay, who modelled themselves on the rule of Napoleon. Even if when Lopez went to France for an audience with Bonaparte he was snubbed. Lopez went to Europe hoping to come back with a royal bride, instead he came back with Eliza Lynch – an Irish whore and hanger on in French society. When Lopez took over from his father it wasn’t long before he had managed to turn South America against him, and Paraguay was at was with the overwhelming powers of Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia. Despite the real impact this war had on the population of Paraguay, the native Paraguayan Indians once more proved their ferocity in conflict. These characters take on such a big part of this book, partly because of the impact of this war, but also because when the Triple Alliance finally broke through into the heart of Paraguay, Lopez went on the run, leading his pursuers on a chase from town to town. So that it is almost to the point where everywhere Gimlette visits was the capital of Paraguay for a week.

Mixed in with the history of these kind of dictators in Paraguayan history, part of what makes this book so interesting is the history of colonists. Gimlette taking the time to visit each faded dream of the disaffected refugees and talking to the people that remember those dreams while living with the reality. These take in Australians in search of Utopia, Japanese cowboys, Mennonites fleeing persecution in Europe/Russia, Jesuits and so many others. Partly because it makes for a good story, but also because of the consistent presence/effect, Gimlette spends a lot of time on the Germans.

A solid part of which comes from the anti-Semites in the late 1800’s, Doctor Forster read too much into statements by Wagner, and established himself with a new paradise in Paraguay with his fiancé Elizabeth Nietzsche. Who was the sister of Freidrich Nietzsche’s, who he pretty much disowned, though when he fell ill she returned to Germany to re-write his legacy. Despite the failure of this enterprise, it created a precedent, such that Paraguay was the first country in the world to have a Nazi government. Elizabeth Nietzsche found herself in favour with Hitler’s regime, and used that to provide money for schools in Paraguay. At the last minute, despite Paraguay’s preferences, they decided it was diplomatic to chose the side of the allies against Germany – even though it was pretty much the last days of the war, they were also the first South American country to declare war on Germany. Regardless, with the end of the war, Paraguay gained a reputation for harbouring war criminals – with Nazis like Mengele trying to keep one step ahead of the Nazi-hunters.

Paraguay has been populated by a number of Indian tribes over the years. Many of which have been assimilated into Paraguayan culture, or seen there numbers dwindle to the point of extinction. The base people come from the Guarani, though for the most part the core has been muddled over the centuries with the inter-breeding with outsiders. Reading of At The Tomb Of The Inflatable Pig overlapped my reading of City Of The Beasts by Isabelle Allende, one of South America’s most well known authors. In which she has her characters meet a secretive tribe of Indians in the Brazilian rain forests, from the descriptions of this tribe and of the Ache in Paraguay it isn’t much of a leap to suspect that these tribes are related – the ability to disappear in the jungle, and cannibalistic rituals related to the release of evil/lingering spirits.

Paraguay as depicted by Gimlette in At The Tomb Of The Inflatable Pig is filled with characters in the past and the present. So many of whom guide Gimlette, providing so much of the humour that comes through in the book, especially in the early part, where it feels like there is something on every page which made me laugh. That humour describes a portion of the affection that comes through in Gimlette’s writing. A writing style that manages to capture so much colour, so much character, so much detail – that really provides gravity and depth, bringing Gimlette’s Paraguay to life. Even with the humour and affection, the Paraguay that we find At The Tomb Of The Inflatable Pig has a tragic past – civil war and battles against it’s neighbours which have taken a startling toll – the poverty and hostility of the land. With that Gimlette’s undercurrent of anger is also a presence, which is also, no doubt, why he dwells so much on the folly of dictators. Paraguay is a slab of parallel reality, vivid and bizarre, yet part of the world, and reading about it through At The Tomb Of The Inflatable Pig is an absorbing journey.