Ten Books Set in Chile and Ten Movies Set in Chile

By Night in Chile

Author: Roberto Bolano

Genre: Fiction

Places Featured: Chile

By Night in Chile can be difficult to read–it’s literally one big long paragraph with no paragraphs or line breaks, because it’s meant to be a sort of diary entry written in one evening by a sick and aging priest who wanted to be a poet, but ended up a priest. It’s also a complicated story that describes entanglements with Opus Dei, homosexuality, and brings in the themes of Pinochet’s control. It has an important place in Chilean literature, though, so if you really want to know Chile and its literary scene, you should check this out.

Clandestine in Chile: The Adventures of Miguel Littin

Author: Gabriel García Márquez

Genre: Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir

Places Featured: Chile

This book set in Chile is a fascinating story–made even more fascinating when you realize it’s true. It’s the story of Miguel Littin, a film director who fled Chile when the Allende government was overthrown and Pinochet took control. More than a decade later, he wanted to return home and tell the truth about Pinchoet’s regime…so he hatched a plot that involved three film crews from three different countries in Chile filming the truth about the country under the guise of filming to promote tourism. Luckily, he told his story to Gabriel García Márquez (another well-known Latin American author) who wrote it down.

I Lived on Butterfly Hill

Author: Marjorie Agosin

Genre: Fiction, Historical

Places Featured: Valparaiso, Chile, Maine, United States

Eleven year-old Celeste Marconi’s peaceful life in the seaside town of Valparaíso is upended when Pinochet takes over her country. Soon, her classmates are disappearing, her parents must go into hiding, and Celeste is sent to Maine for her protection. She attempts to adapt to her new home, but is always thinking of her parents and her home back in Chile. This book about Chile would be a great choice for a young adult (and anyone) who wants to understand the political upheaval that Pinochet’s government created for Chileans.

Lost & Waiting

Author: Amanda Read

Genre: Fiction

Places Featured: Chile

Evangeline is a botanist who discovers a journal written by the famous plant hunter Edwin ‘Chile’ Morgan who claims to have found the World Tree which holds the secrets to life. Dealing with the grief of a stillbirth, Evangeline sees this as the perfect opportunity to head off to Chile for an adventure… This book has been described as “genre-bending” so be ready for a bit of a wild ride.

My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile

Author: Isabel Allende

Genre: Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir

Places Featured: Chile, United States

There can’t be a list of books set in Chile without a book by Isabel Allende (and we actually have two–see further down the list). She’s been called “the world’s most widely read Spanish-language author” and has received numerous awards and recognitions for her writing (she really is good). My Invented Country is her memoir about growing up with a diplomatic stepfather, being forced into exile, and finding herself in the United States. She tells the story of immigrants and what it means to find a home and how you define who you are.

Swedish Tango: A Novel

Author: Alyson Richman

Genre: Fiction, Historical, Romance

Places Featured: Chile, Sweden

As you might have guessed, Sweden also plays a big role in this particular book, but we still included it because Richman weaves an interesting tale of love, political intrigue, and the effects of war. It’s the story of a Chilean movie star who becomes a media advisor to the presidential campaign of the controversial Salvador Allende…which makes him (and his family) a target so they flee to political exile in Sweden.

The House of the Spirits: A Novel

Author: Isabel Allende

Genre: Fiction, Magical Realism

Places Featured: Chile

It was difficult to narrow down which of Allende’s fictional dramas to include on this list, but we went with The House of the Spirits because it was this debut novel that catapulted her to fame. It is often studied in school and has been adapted to both a film (with a great cast, even though it bombed and only made our bonus list of movies set in Chile below) and a few plays. (It’s also expected to be a TV series soon.) It’s the story of three generations of the Trueba family set against the political upheaval of Chile.

The Postman/Ardiente Paciencia

Author: Antonio Skarmeta

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Places Featured: Chile

This book is based on a movie which was then, again, turned into a movie (this one was nominated for an Academy Award) and into an opera. It’s the story of a fictional postman who becomes friends with famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (the movie Neruda below is about him, too) . The poet helps the postman define his love for Beatriz. It’s a sweet short novel, famous in Chile.

Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile

Author: Sara Wheeler

Genre: Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir

Places Featured: Chile

Sara Wheeler is no stranger to adventure–she has spent much of her life exploring the world (especially the cold parts!) and writing about her experiences. Travels in a Thin Country is her memoir of her time traveling the full length of Chile from the top to the Southern tip to Antarctica (2,600 miles!). She sees a lot of different things and meets a lot of different people and although it’s sometimes difficult to follow along, there are some interesting insights–ideal for someone that wants to learn about the country as a whole.

Ways of Going Home: A Novel

Author: Alejandro Zambra

Genre: Fiction, Historical

Places Featured: Santiago, Chile

Alejandro Zambra is a famous Chilean poet and author and although Ways of Going Home is fiction, it’s believed to be based largely on Zambra’s own life as a child growing up under the dictatorship of Pinochet. It’s the story of an unnamed 9-year-old boy growing up in the suburbs of Santiago as the regime is beginning to take hold being written by a man who is also facing the question of how those you know and love take sides during political upheaval. The novel weaves between the author and the protagonist for different views.

Missing (1982)

Rating: PG

Genre: Biography/Memoir, Drama, Thriller, Historical

Places Featured: Chile

This fascinating movie set in Chile is based on a true story, outlined in the book The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice by Thomas Hauser (later republished under the title Missing). It’s the story of Charlie Horman, a journalist who has gone missing in Chile while reporting on the recent military coup. His father, Ed Horman (played by the always excellent Jack Lemmon) comes to Chile to search for his son. He must work with his daughter-in-law (played by Sissy Spacek), with whom he has a strained relationship and navigate the complicated (and dangerous) world of Chilean politics of the time. This was another award-winning movie.

Machuca (2004)

Rating: N/R

Genre: Biography/Memoir, Drama, Historical

Places Featured: Santiago, Chile

Machuca is the story of two young boys–one from a rich European background and one from a lower-class indigenous background–who meet at an elite private Catholic boarding school in Santiago…just as the country is adjusting to Pinochet’s military coup over Allende. There’s a lot to dissect in the movie (classism, religion, political unrest, etc.) and (even with the bad language), it’s a good movie for young adults.

Nostalgia for the Light/Nostalgia de la Luz (2010)

Rating: N/R

Genre: Documentary

Places Featured: Chile

Nostalgia for the Light is an interesting documentary about “two different searches conducted in the Chilean Atacama Desert”: one storyline is about astronomers trying to understand the universe and one storyline is about Chilean women trying to find the remains of their loved ones killed by Pinochet’s regime. It’s tragic and heart wrenching, but powerful–one of those documentaries that might leave you with more questions than answers.

Violeta Went to Heaven (2011)

Rating: N/R

Genre: Biography, Drama, Musical

Places Featured: Chile

Violeta Parra was a well-known musical icon in Chile–she was a folk singer and songwriter who helped to reinvent Chilean folk music and is known as “the Mother of Latin American folk”. Although she was a pioneer and is well-revered, she struggled with mental health and ultimately killed herself in 1967. One of her children, Angel Parra, wrote a biography of her life and this movie brings that powerful story (and her powerful music) to the screen.

No (2012)

Rating: R

Genre: Drama, Historical, War/Military

Places Featured: Chile

As mentioned, General Pinochet’s coup over Salvador Allende changed the Chilean political scene and had a major effect on everyone in Chile. In 1988, Chile held a plebiscite (a referendum) to determine if Pinochet should stay in office for another eight years–a yes vote meant that he would stay for another eight years…a no vote meant new elections in one year. No is all about those elections and the advertising campaigns both sides ran. (Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal stars in this movie and he’s great as always.)

Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus (2013)

Lost North/Sin Norte (2015)

Rating: N/R

Genre: Drama

Places Featured: Chile

This one is a good choice for the beautiful Chilean scenery–the love of Estaban’s life, Isabel, has left him and he, desperate to find her, attempts to follow in her steps on a 900-mile highway North from Santiago towards Bolivia. As expected, he sees a lot of things and meets a lot of people and learns a lot of lessons. It’s another road trip movie with some great eye candy and a heartfelt intention.

Neruda (2016)

Rating: R

Genre: Biography, Drama, Historical

Places Featured: Chile

Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet…and diplomat. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971…before he was (assumed to be) poisoned by his political rivals which led to his death in 1973. Crazy story, right? That’s the true version. The movie Neruda is mostly based on fact, but it is important to note that it does over-dramatize an already dramatic story. It focuses on the time Neruda was forced to flee Chile with other Communists in 1948. (It’s another movie that stars Gael Garcia Bernal–he’s just that good.)

A Fantastic Woman (2017)

Rating: R

Genre: Drama

Places Featured: Santiago, Chile

This is one POWERFUL film and I just love that it’s so popular and has been so well-received–it was nominated for a lot of awards and it was the first Chilean film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It’s the story of Marina, a young transgender woman, working as a waitress in Santiago, Chile. She has an older boyfriend…who suddenly dies, which forces Marina to face her family, her society, and her own feelings…to prove she is a fantastic woman. (Bonus? Daniela Vega who is amazing in the starring role is actually a transgender woman herself. That type of acceptance and recognition makes me happy.)

And Suddenly the Dawn (2017)

Rating: N/R

Genre: Drama

Places Featured: Chile

This is a long monster of a movie with an interesting story. Jumping around different time periods (the present, the 60s and 70s, and the 40s), it’s the story of Pancho, a writer who grew up on the island of Chiloe, the largest island in the archipelago off the coast of Chile, and his return to that island for the first time in forty years. It’s a film where he reviews his life, faces his past, and figures out what might be next.