Set in the Chile of the Pinochet coup, [Yevgeny Yevtushenko's "A Dove in Santiago"] is the tragic story of 21-year-old Enrique. As an artist, Enrique is torn between the opposing views of his two teachers. As a lover, he divides his affections between an older woman and a younger, his secrecy towards each a deep betrayal. The young man's soul is divided, too, between politics and art, and even between his parents—an ailing mother and father who abandoned him. Enrique's situation and those around him drive him to despair and eventual suicide. Although he never intended harm to anyone, his death brings much suffering. And in a cruel twist of fate, his body plummeting to earth crushes a dove, marking another death that should never have occurred…. [Yevtushenko's] strong, descriptive, and very accessible verse … tells a graceful and memorable tale.

A review of "A Dove in Santiago...