Money To Burn - Ricardo Piglia
This book was a really great read, and gave some really good insight into what the 1960s were like in Argentina and Uruguay. One of the main draws of the novel is the bizarre writing style by the author which claims to use true facts and references to tell the story. That being said, with any event such as this, there are bound to be differing perspectives and takes on the story, along with possible embellishment by the author to tell a more compelling story. Personally, I was constantly trying to guess how much I could trust the author, and whether I should really trust anything at all that was being said. While there seemed to be a high level of fact checking and referencing within the text, much of the novel was so largely outlandish that it seemed impossible to really gather whether the author was really getting an unbiased perspective.
This narrative style really harkened back to reading The Da Vinci Code, admittedly a horrible book, which alleged to tell some level of truth amidst a fictional story. In the same way that Piglia’s novel has been highly controversial, the Da Vinci Code was also known for its very provocative and sensationalized commentary on the Catholic Church. In both books, I was continually searching for other information and trying to fact check what I could about the narratives. Admittedly, Piglia’s text goes a step farther in that it openly admits that it seeks to tell a true story and use a near journalistic approach to describing the narrative. I very much questioned the ethics of this, particularly when so many people in largely covert organizations are present. Piglia would have really struggled to get an accurate picture, and it appears that some of the information in the novel was sensationalized and exaggerated as was demonstrated by the lawsuits filed against following the publication of the novel.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a great and thought provoking read. The insight into criminal minds was fascinating, and I enjoyed Piglia’s writing style very much. The burning of the money in the end also made for very interesting social commentary - in the face of certain death this kind of protest is incredibly powerful and really made me think about the impact of capital and the way that inequality inspires people to do crazy things.
This narrative style really harkened back to reading The Da Vinci Code, admittedly a horrible book, which alleged to tell some level of truth amidst a fictional story. In the same way that Piglia’s novel has been highly controversial, the Da Vinci Code was also known for its very provocative and sensationalized commentary on the Catholic Church. In both books, I was continually searching for other information and trying to fact check what I could about the narratives. Admittedly, Piglia’s text goes a step farther in that it openly admits that it seeks to tell a true story and use a near journalistic approach to describing the narrative. I very much questioned the ethics of this, particularly when so many people in largely covert organizations are present. Piglia would have really struggled to get an accurate picture, and it appears that some of the information in the novel was sensationalized and exaggerated as was demonstrated by the lawsuits filed against following the publication of the novel.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a great and thought provoking read. The insight into criminal minds was fascinating, and I enjoyed Piglia’s writing style very much. The burning of the money in the end also made for very interesting social commentary - in the face of certain death this kind of protest is incredibly powerful and really made me think about the impact of capital and the way that inequality inspires people to do crazy things.
"the bizarre writing style"
ReplyDeleteI'm not entirely sure what you mean by this... can you point to a specific paragraph or page as an example?
"much of the novel was so largely outlandish"
Here, too, perhaps you could point to a specific incident or two that struck you as "outlandish"?
"The insight into criminal minds was fascinating"
Again, specifics would be very helpful. Which of the characters in particular are you thinking about here? What are the significant differences between them and their various psychologies?
Hi Jon, thank you very much for your comment.
DeleteAdmittedly bizarre is not the most apt term to describe the novel, perhaps intriguing is a better term to use. I found the mix between a more traditional narrative and journalistic style to be very unique, and particularly interesting in the context of a “Testimonio” as outlined in the lecture. I found the decision to blend truth and fiction more outlandish, as evidenced by the numerous lawsuits received by Piglia and the apparent fabrication of the relationship between Gaucho and the Kid. Even if it is a work of fiction, inventing or outing a homosexual relationship about real characters in a homophobic country more than 20 years ago is certainly outlandish and ethically questionable.
As for the criminal psyche, I found the comments made by Malito about him reading the paper to be interesting. He has this struggle with ego, voraciously reading the crime section of the local paper while being simultaneously pleased and disappointed that he is not recognized. It also sort of manipulates his own “overton window” of what is permissible. He recognizes that crime is a product, and the people that consume these papers really aren’t so different from him. In a way it seems to give him permission to commit more crimes.