Paraguay

At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels Through Paraguay, by John Gimlette (2004). Gimlette, a London lawyer and writer, recounts humor-filled anecdotes from his travels over two decades to Paraguay.He meetsMennonites and socialites, and visits some unusual spots, such as the Asunción Yacht Club—where he sits at a table near Tito Valiente, "the restaurateur who shot his mother."

The News From Paraguay, by Lily Tuck (2004). This National Book Award Winner is an exhaustively researched work of historical fiction that traces the 19th-century love affair between Irish beauty Ella Lynch and Paraguay's infamous dictator Francisco (Franco) Solano Lopez. After meeting in Europe, the pair sail to Paraguay's capital, Asunción, where, as Ella learns, the women smoke cigars. She bears five sons as her lover sets about making war, taking mistresses, and living extravagantly as the country descends into ruins.