Thanks to the publisher for my free review copy!

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this one, an Argentinean novel set in the 40s and 70s told in three distinct parts. The first is the narrator’s grandmother relaying her first sexual impulses to her grandson (weird), which she felt towards a boy who later went on to become a military leader in the dictatorship. The second section tells of a plot to assassinate this leader and his entourage. Then the third section is back to the grandmother in present day, telling her grandson about the day his father was taken by the regime, over an extremely confusing game of cards which dominates the narrative.

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I am all for being challenged by a novel, but I don’t love it when it starts to feel like work 😩 Also the first section made me feel very icky. It was just too much focus on this grandmother’s first experiences with masturbation, aged 13 or so mind you. It didn’t feel like lecherous but I was just very aware that a man had written this, and within the story a grandmother was telling this to her grandson? Very, very odd.

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The second section was better. It had an urgency and I enjoy a political backdrop. But this was the shortest section and then we’re back with the grandmother and grandson. While she’s telling him a different story, they’re playing a game called Truco. The rules are explained at the end but let me tell you that did not make it any clearer. I kept getting pulled out of the story with the constant play updates.

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Overall, bit of a miss for me this one!