If you want to get a taste of what it was really like in Argentina and Paraguay during the time plagued by strong handed dictatorships, this novel, although fiction, could easily have been a biography, and a good one at that. No boring dribble.
The translators historical notes are excellent for putting things, at least somewhat, into perspective for people who have never lived in South America. Some things and feelings can never be completely conveyed in words.
I will say that although democracy in a limited form was already in Argentina by 1984, as the translator mentions, when I went there it was in its infancy, and it certainly had not arrived in Paraguay. President Strossner held onto his dictatorship in Paraguay until 1989. I remember a distinct "us" against "them" feeling from the general public in Paraguay that really united them and made them be better friends and neighbors, even as they lived in a level of fear where many things were not even spoken of. I was 16-17yr old and naive and did not really make note of disappearances but I was told later about some that happened while I was there. I did notice military on every corner, frequently they were 15-17yr olds with machine guns serving out their mandatory service time. I went to school with some, nice boys most of them. However, it was a time a person had to be very very careful about what they did and said, always having to rethink things to see if somehow they might appear as a threat, even if it was never intended that way. Being seen as a threat could easily get a person shot or worse. The people I knew did not openly complain about the government, not ever. My carefree, innocent ways frequently instilled terror in those I lived with. I was reprimanded more than once that I could have been shot for this or that. This book shows a snapshot of that time and really the feelings, especially the fears, and the control tactics used are applicable to a much broader Geographical are than Argentina. ( )

I saw this book on LT and it looked interesting. The story of a woman, a medical student, who sees her union activist boyfriend thrown off a balcony, right before the generals take over Argentina. Fearing for her life she flees the city. Her refuge is deep in the country, with her mother's estranged family. It is set in the 70s, and deals with the oppression and terror of the new regime.

The main character, Berta, talks about how her countrymen accept the take over at first, because they are tired of political strife and violence. Slowly they realize this is a different kind of dictatorship than they are used to, or expecting. The new people kidnap, torture, and kill indiscriminately. Berta is wanted because they think she has union money that her boyfriend raised. Oddly her mother and 3 brothers are never threatened or arrested. In fact the whole idea that the regime is after her is treated like an afterthought - something to explain her flight and to try to develop tension.

We see her trip to the family home and how she fits in even though her mother left in anger. We see the rhythm of life and family that gives her a foundation she lacked. They were all shunned by her father's family, because he was already married when he took up with Berta's mother. He eventually marries her, but the damage has been done. Berta's maternal family are also not happy about the relationship, and her mother severs their connections. Berta's father dies, and they are left alone.

Berta gets warnings from her mother and must move again. She goes even deeper into the wilderness to stay with an elderly sick uncle on the farm where they all originated. She meets the head of another family, an Indian family, they squat on the same land as her family and have for generations. The 2 families cooperate and have learned to survive. She uses her medical training and helps a local mid-wife deliver babies for poor, isolated women. Again another warning, and Berta must flee to Spain.

The book tells of her arrival there, but ends rather satisfyingly. The whole book is a bit unsatisfying. The writing has flashes of beauty, but is rather amateurish. Most authors write a story to set the scene, explain the background, describe the ambiance. Lise just makes lists. Every dramatic moment, Lise makes lists of adjectives to explain things. Very poor for the story. I don't think the translator can be blamed for a lack in the writing by the author.

The book is also billed as a story about the political oppression of the general's take over of Argentina in 1976. Yet the story is much more about Berta's family situation and re-connecting with her maternal family than it is about the dictatorship. Disappointing. It is very short, and that can be a good thing when the book is mediocre, but also gives no chance for depth and story development. ( )