In 1953 the collection of 17 short stories "El trueno entre las hojas" (1953; "Thunder Among the Leaves") was published and circulated internationally, but it was not until the 1960 publication of the novel "Hijo de hombre" ("Son of Man") that Roa Bastos won major critical and popular success. The novel draws on the oppressive history of Paraguay from the rule of Dr. Jose Gaspar de Francia in the early 19th century until the Chaco War in the 1930s. Its multiple narrative perspectives and historical and political themes anticipate his most famous work, "Yo, el Supremo", written more than a decade later. Roa Bastos adapted "Hijo de hombre" into an award-winning film in the same year as its publication.