Esta historia fue frívola desde el inicio. Eso es algo que no podemos negar. Sin embargo, como en la vida de cualquier loco, descubrimos la nobleza detrás de las acciones de su protagonista y acompañantes. Ahora, para aquellos dispuestos a continuar con el reto ya saben que la historia no terminó. Roberto Artl, como todo buen escritor argentino, disfruta de complicarnos la vida. Así, la historia de Erdosain y su crímen continuará en “Los lanzallamas” y están invitados a continuar la lectura! ( )

This pre-boom argentine writes a hard-boiled existential Dostoyevskian thriller set in 1920's Buenos Aires. Unfortunately the 2nd half of this book 'Los lanzallamas' has never been translated into English. Unlike the Russian I mentioned above he chucks the idea of any kind of hero and soups up the action. What that leaves us is a gritty cityscape filled with gangsters, criminals, prostitutes and revolutionaries all looking for their piece of the pie. Bill collector and anti-hero Remo Erdosain bounces from one to the other intent on finding someone who will bail him out of the money he's embezzled from his employer 'the Sugar Company'. Unbeknownst to him at the same time as his wife is preparing to dump him. Increasingly depressed he falls under the sway of a politically savvy revolutionary nicknamed 'the Astrologer' who is planning a coup d'etat who is surrounded by a small group of cynical supporters and con men--of particular note is the gangster Haffner (aka The Melancholy Ruffian) and Hipolita (aka The Lame Whore). Nasty, sloppy but an intriguing writing style. This ride does not come with shock absorbers. It is simply built for maximum speed. Thought provoking but still a lot of fun. A great book. ( )