A Funny, Dirty Little War

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In this political satire of postwar Argentina, a group of village officials, ordered by their city bosses to find ``infiltrators,'' brands the council leader and the local tax collector ``Marxist-Communists'' and sets out to arrest them. The two falsely accused men put up a fight, leading quickly to a siege of city hall, shootings, assassinations, arson, bombings. In a day, much of the village is destroyed in a spurious fight between people who all consider themselves followers of Peron. (Typically, a series of hostile notes between the two sides ends with the same phrase, ``Peron or Death!'') Reminiscent of works by Kurt Vonnegut and Vladimir Voinovich, this farce mirrors Argentina's self-destruction over the last three decades. Although written in 1980, it was published in that country only after the fall of the military junta in 1983. (March)

Library Journal

This story of political confrontation in a small Argentinian village may at first seem alien to the American audience. As one reads on, however, the novella becomes a powerful commentary on the destructive impact of blind ideology, especially when used to justify ambition and greed. Ignacio Fuentes, a local council leader, is accused of treason by the ambitious leader of a rival Peronist faction. No one really quite understands what is happening, but soon the whole town is engulfed in partisan violence, everyone believing he is fighting on behalf of the Peronist cause. Soriano's masterful juxtaposition of farce and tragedy greatly intensifies the story's impact. A worthy addition to collections of modern Latin American fiction. David W. Henderson, Eckerd Coll. Lib., St. Petersburg, Fla.