Mask of the Andes

{{Short description|Book by Jon Cleary}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}

{{Use Australian English|date=May 2013}}

{{infobox book |

| name = Mask of the Andes

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| image = File:MaskOfTheAndes.jpg

| caption = First UK edition

| author = Jon Cleary

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| country = Australia

| language = English

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| publisher = Collins (UK)
William Morrow (US)

| release_date = 1971

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Mask of the Andes, also known as The Liberators in the US, is a 1971 novel written by Australian author Jon Cleary set in Bolivia, where Cleary spent several weeks.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131811838 |title=Two Australians in contrast. |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=12 June 1971 |accessdate=18 October 2015 |page=15 |via=National Library of Australia}}

Cleary says he had been thinking about its themes for over ten years. The result was one of his most critically acclaimed works,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46227006 |title=THE RETURN OF SCOBIE MALONE. |newspaper=Australian Women's Weekly |date=28 March 1973 |accessdate=10 March 2012 |page=15 |via=National Library of Australia}} with some critics drawing comparison to Graham Greene.{{cite news | first=Dorothy | last=Hughes | title=Latin America Without 'Oles' | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=6 June 1971 | page=o50}} In 1975 Cleary said he thought it was his best book to date. {{cite news|title=The little bloke who reached the top|newspaper=The Age|date=12 April 1975|page=19|first=Pamela|last=Ruskin}}

The book did not sell well in Britain, the US or Australia, but was a big seller in Germany and South America. Cleary even received a fan letter from some of Che Guevara's former guerrillas.Tony Stephens, 'Steinbeck? Don't Make Me Laugh', Sydney Morning Herald, 4 November 1989 p. 86