The Prosecutor

The Prosecutor is the third novel of a trilogy written by the internationally famous Paraguayan author Augusto Roa Bastos. It was preceded by the novels Son of Man and I The Supreme. Together these three works contemplate what the author has termed “the monotheism of power.” The Prosecutor explores the atrocities of the Alfredo Stroessner dictatorship in Paraguay, which lasted from 1954 to 1989. Through connections with important Paraguayan historical figures, such as Francisco Solano López, the novel links the protagonist to Paraguay’s past as he struggles to give meaning to his life by assassinating the dictator and freeing the Paraguayan people. Combining autobiography, detective fiction, historical novel and philosophy, the novel examines the question of whether one man has the right to judge another. A provocative introduction and comprehensive notes by Helene Carol Weldt-Basson illuminate this translation of one of Roa Bastos’s most important works.