The Murders of Moisés Ville: The Rise and Fall of the Jerusalem of South America
The Murders of Moisés Ville: The Rise and Fall of the Jerusalem of South America
By Javier Sinay
Translated from the Spanish by Robert Croll
Award-winning journalist Javier Sinay investigates a series of murders from the nineteenth century, unearthing the complex history and legacy of Moisés Ville, the “Jerusalem of South America,” and his personal connection to a defining period of Jewish history in Argentina.
Hardcover ISBN: 9781632062987
Publication date: Mar 29, 2022
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ABOUT THE BOOK
When Argentine journalist Javier Sinay discovers an article from 1947 by his great-grandfather detailing twenty-two murders that had occurred in Moisés Ville at the end of the nineteenth century, he launches his own investigation that soon turns into something deeper: an exploration of the history of Moisés Ville, one of the first Jewish agricultural communities in Argentina, and Sinay’s own connection to this historically thriving Jewish epicenter..
Seeking refuge from the pogroms of Czarist Russia, a group of Jewish immigrants founded Moisés Ville in the late 1880s. Like their town’s prophetic namesake, these immigrants fled one form of persecution only to encounter a different set of hardships: exploitative land prices, starvation, illness, language barriers, and a series of murders perpetrated by roving gauchos who preyed upon their vulnerability. Sinay, though a descendant of these immigrants, is unfamiliar with this turbulent history, and his research into the spate of violence plunges him into his family’s past and their link to Moisés Ville. He combs through libraries and archives in search of documents about the murders and hires a book detective to track down issues of Der Viderkol, the first Yiddish newspaper in Argentina started by his great-grandfather. He even enrolls in Yiddish classes so he can read the newspaper and other contemporaneous records for himself. Through interviews with his family members, current residents of Moisés Ville, historians, and archivists, Sinay compiles moving portraits of the victims of these heinous murders and reveals the fascinating and complex history of the town once known as the “Jerusalem of South America.”
Praise for The Murders of Moisés Ville
Nominated for Book of the Year, 2023 CrimeCon C.L.U.E. Awards
“Sinay acknowledges the impossibility of fully separating legends from facts. . . but his diligence has produced as definitive an account as possible of what actually happened during this bloody period. This nuanced search for truth should have broad appeal.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"I greatly admire Javier Sinay's enlightening and humane account of his sleuthing—the disinterment of a violent episode of buried history—now no longer forgotten. Its implications resonate far beyond the borders of Argentina."
—Paul Theroux, author of The Mosquito Coast and Under the Wave at Waimea
“A fascinating, dark journey of the hardships faced by Jews fleeing Eastern Europe seeking to establish themselves in a foreign country.”
—Yedidya Levin, Ami Magazine
“With the help of a Yiddish translator, Sinay unearthed not only imprecise information in Mijl’s accounts, but also silences on key issues. … Intelligent and well-researched … A worthy, unique entry in Jewish history.”
“Javier Sinay is a cronista of whom we are all proud.”
—Jon Lee Anderson, author of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life and The Fall of Baghdad
"[T]his work of historical reportage helps to keep the victims’ memories alive. The Murders of Moisés Ville sheds light on an undercovered portion of Jewish history."
—Jeff Fleischer, Foreword Reviews
“Javier Sinay...is one of the most recent and interesting links between narrative journalism, American non-fiction, and the rich tradition of Argentinian detective literature.”
—Rodrigo Márquez Tizano, VICE
“Part detective story, part family history, The Murders of Moisés Ville: The Rise and Fall of the Jerusalem of South America— by Buenos Aires journalist Javier Sinay — offers a compelling path to learn more.”
—Howard Freedman, Jewish News of Northern California
“In the pursuit to understand his own past, while unraveling the mysteries surrounding Moisés Ville, Javier Sinay has created an unflinching portrait of the first Jewish community in Argentina, who, despite enormous challenges, life-threatening privations, and demeaning persecution, endured to pave the way for others seeking a new life in Argentina…Sinay has demonstrated once again, that history must be preserved no matter the cost – for ourselves, as well as for future generations.”
—Stephen Newton, Litro Magazine
“What begins as an exercise in historical sleuthing evolves into a more ambitious exploration of Argentine Jewish history and identity…Sinay doesn’t need to create a direct connection to this tragic present. It is more than enough that he refuses to flatten the Moisés Ville murders to fit a totalizing narrative of antisemitic violence in Argentina. In so doing, he not only rejects facile conceptions of Jewish victimhood, but also defies the Zionist idea that, by virtue of having suffered in one country, Jews are automatically entitled to land in another.”
—Lily Meyer, Jewish Currents
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
© Veronica Martinez
Javier Sinay is a writer and journalist based in Buenos Aires. His books include Camino al Este, Cuba Stone (co-authored), and Sangre joven, which won the Rodolfo Walsh Prize. In 2015 he was awarded the Gabriel García Márquez Prize for his article “Rápido. Furioso. Muerto” (“Fast. Furious. Dead”) published in Rolling Stone. The Murders of Moisés Ville is his first book in English.
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
Robert Croll is a writer, translator, musician, and artist originally from Asheville, North Carolina. He first came to translation during his undergraduate studies at Amherst College, where he focused particularly on the short fiction of Julio Cortázar and contemporary Latin American literature. He has worked on texts by such authors as Ricardo Piglia, Hebe Uhart, Julio Cortázar, Gustavo Roldán, Javier Sinay, and Juan Carlos Onetti.
THIS BOOK IS PUBLISHED WITH SUPPORT FROM PROSUR AND DAVID SMITH
BOOK DETAILS
Hardcover ISBN: 9781632062987 • $28
Publication date: Mar 29, 2022
6" x 9" • 288 pages
Nonfiction—History / True Crime / Jewish / Yiddish / Immigration / Argentina / 19th Century South America
Rights: World English, Audio
eBook ISBN: 9781632062994
BOOKS BY JAVIER SINAY
By Javier Sinay
Translated from the Spanish by Robert Croll
Award-winning journalist Javier Sinay investigates a series of murders from the nineteenth century, unearthing the complex history and legacy of Moisés Ville, the “Jerusalem of South America,” and his personal connection to a defining period of Jewish history in Argentina.
Hardcover ISBN: 9781632062987
Publication date: Mar 29, 2022