I, the Supreme

Augusto Roa Bastos (1917-2005) was a Paraguayan novelist, short-story writer, and screenwriter who fought in the Chaco War as a teenager and was exiled in 1947 due to political turmoil, living primarily in Argentina and France until returning after the fall of Stroessner's dictatorship. His notable works include Son of Man (1960) and his masterpiece I, the Supreme (1974), a complex historical novel about dictator José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia that blends magic realism and innovative narrative techniques. He received the prestigious Cervantes Prize in 1989 for his contributions to Latin American literature.