‘An epic story of courage and tragedy’ – Matt Dickinson, The Times
'Dozens of sports books land on my desk every year. Few, though, have ever packed the gut punch of The Silenced . . . Extraordinary' – Sean Ingle, The Guardian
‘A chilling, remarkable, heart-breaking account . . . highly recommended’ – Alex Spink, Daily Mirror
‘A powerful and heart-breaking story about sacrifice and courage’ – Alan Pearey, Rugby World
‘excellent . . . powerful’ – Andrew Downie, Americas Quarterly
‘A gargantuan, memorable story, a film in the making, ready for global success’ – La Repubblica, Italy
‘A powerful and heart-breaking story about sacrifice and courage’ – Le Monde, France
Argentina, 1978. President Jorge Rafael Videla’s military dictatorship reigns with an iron fist, kidnapping, torturing and murdering political activists and their families at secret concentration camps. The country is locked in a spiral of fear and chaos – and is soon to host the football World Cup.
As the cacophony of protests against Videla’s government rises, his regime’s drive to ‘disappear’ these troublesome elements accelerates before they can embarrass the junta in front of the world’s media.
This is the story of a rugby club that refuses to be silenced. When one of their teammates is assassinated, the Club La Plata first XV take a minute’s silence before their next game. The minute runs to two . . . to three . . . For ten long minutes they stand in furious silence.
When the junta learns of this protest, it isn’t long before reprisals begin to be administered to other members of the team.
This extraordinary novel is based on interviews with survivors of Argentina’s Dirty War in the seventies, when tens of thousands of protesters disappeared, many never to be found again. Bold, powerful and heart-breaking, The Silenced is a portrait of astonishing courage and defiance, and an examination of the unbreakable bonds of a rugby team in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
UK orders:
European orders: