Diary of the War of the Pig

A mysterious wave of violence against the elderly breaks out in Buenos Aires, with young people suddenly turning hostile toward anyone they consider "old." Don Isidro Vidal, a 60-year-old man living a quiet life, finds himself thrust into an atmosphere of escalating danger and social upheaval. Through Vidal's daily observations and encounters, the story tracks the rapid dissolution of social order as age becomes a fatal liability in the city. His attempts to maintain normalcy and connect with others reveal the precariousness of his position in a society gripped by this inexplicable hatred. The narrative follows Vidal as he navigates relationships, contemplates mortality, and tries to survive in an increasingly hostile environment. His personal experiences interconnect with larger social dynamics as both individuals and institutions struggle to respond to the crisis. This allegorical novel poses questions about aging, social worth, and the fragility of civilized behavior. Through its premise, it examines how societies can rapidly turn against their vulnerable members when fear and irrationality take hold.

Readers appreciate the book's exploration of aging and society's treatment of the elderly through a dark allegorical lens. Several reviews note its relevance to modern debates about ageism and intergenerational conflict. Positive reviews highlight: - Concise, straightforward writing style - Effective blend of political commentary and personal story - Building tension throughout narrative - Thought-provoking ending Common criticisms: - Slow pacing in middle sections - Underdeveloped secondary characters - Some readers found the premise stretched thin - Translation feels stiff in places One Goodreads reviewer called it "a haunting commentary on how society discards its elderly." Another noted it "reads like a prequel to Logan's Run." Ratings: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (500+ ratings) Amazon: 4.1/5 (30+ ratings) LibraryThing: 3.8/5 (50+ ratings) Many Spanish-language reviews rate it higher than English translations, suggesting some nuance may be lost in translation.

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🔸 The novel, published in 1969, depicts a dystopian Buenos Aires where young people suddenly begin persecuting and killing the elderly, reflecting social anxieties about generational conflict and aging in mid-20th century Argentina. 🔸 Author Adolfo Bioy Casares collaborated frequently with Jorge Luis Borges, and together they wrote several works under the pseudonym H. Bustos Domecq. 🔸 The book's Spanish title "Diario de la Guerra del Cerdo" plays on Argentine slang, where "cerdo" (pig) was a derogatory term for older people during the time period. 🔸 Though written when Bioy Casares was in his mid-50s, the novel eerily foreshadowed Argentina's "Dirty War" of the 1970s, during which young military officers terrorized older civilians. 🔸 The diary format of the novel was inspired by Daniel Defoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year," which similarly chronicled a society descending into chaos and violence.