The Murders of Moisés Ville: The Rise and Fall of the Jerusalem of South America Hardcover – February 22, 2022 by Javier Sinay

Description

Author: Sinay Javier

Package Dimensions: 0x0x788

Number Of Pages: 288

Release Date: 22-02-2022

Details: Product Description
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.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 into 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.”
“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

Review
“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.”―Kirkus Reviews

“[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
Review
“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
About the Author
Javier Sinay is a writer and journalist. His books include Camino al Este, Cuba Stone (in collaboration), Los crimes de Moisés Ville (forthcoming from Restless Books as The Murders of Moises Ville, 2022), and Sangre joven, which won the Premio Rodolfo Walsh de la Semana Negra de Gijón, España. In 2015 he won the Premio de la Fundación Gabo/FNPI for his chronicle “Fast. Furious. Dead.,” published in Rolling Stone. His work has appeared in the newspapers La Nación and Clarín, in Buenos Aires, and on the website RED/ACCIÓN. He was also a South America correspondent for El Universal (Mexico) and the editor of Rolling Stone (Argentina). He has collaborated with Gatopardo (Mexico), Label Negra (Peru), Letras Libres (Mexico) and Reportagen (Switzerland). He lives in Bue