David’s choice, July 20th.
David
I first saw the film before I read the book. Key people are the deputy clerk, the judge, - woman- and protagonist- Chaparro- is in love. v sudden turn at end- didn’t see that coming. This book has all the ingredients of life; jealously, revenge, vindictiveness. Story = Morales very much in love but who committed the murder? Chaparo- investigates it in 2 time periods. 1 period is much later than the events. He also wants to remain in contact with the judge, but never has the courage to express that love. He sees the secret in her eyes. What their eyes are saying, he is interpreting. 1 of his colleagues pins the crime on some builders. Chaparro convinces others that the 2 arrested are not the suspects, the colleague- he gets struck off. Ch is struck by Morales’s love- so he makes it his job to solve the crime. Judiciary wrapped up the case quickly as unsolved. It is only later when he retires, & links up with Irene, that he learns about the dictatorship and corruption. When he works out who the murderer is, & realises he has been released, Gomez woud be a useful person to help get rid of the dissidents who are being targeted. He is a sociopath. Morales has to contend with this, and seeks justice. For Romano, he wanted revenge for Chapparo getting him the sack. Chapparo is in exile at the end, but he picks up the thread of Morales. He discovers the secret of what Morales had done. That was his justice. That was the shock. Justice requires time to inflict the pain equivalent to the pain I have suffered for not having the love of my life. At the end, we are confronted as to why Chaparro does not confront the woman he loves. The film was rather good- was rated in top 100. Book is as good. 8/10
Caroline
Enjoyed it. I like detective novels, & books set in different countries. Easy to read. Characters nicely drawn, believable. Description of work & work colleagues good. Intriguing to see the inside of the court rooms. Loved relationship with Sandoval. Slight problems- 3 things going on at the same time, switching between them. Wondered if he was trying to pad out a detective story. Descriptive thing didn’t add too much for me. When they get Gomez, and Sandoval plays the part of a drunk, it seemed not believable the way the characters interacted. End was weird, too much of a stretch for me. Trying to make something a bit more. But I would read more by this author again. Irritating to not know if Irene will have a relationship with him. 4/10
Rob
Enjoyed it. Didn’t mind the stuff about how you go about writing a book. Like David I found the construction of a shell a bit unrealistic. A big stretch of imagination. An interesting book- Chaparro maintains his integrity & finally transfers it into his personal life, so it’s a love story. What spurs him on is what Morales is prepared to do for the basis of love. What he does may be reprehensible- sacrifices his own life to keep Gomez a prisoner. You need the information about him writing a novel to make the book work. At the end, he finds the strength to approach Irene because of what Morales has done. Love story & detective story together. Love element is v underplayed. It mirrors Chaparro’s diffidence about showing his feelings. A few minor niggles. The backdrop of generals not made much of. Baez & Chaparro discussed Morales- would you do the same thing? Baez said- yes I would. Thank u v much,
4/10
John
It took me a little while to find my feet- 2 time periods, starts out finding the typewriter. Is he writing a novel or a story - of real life? Murder happens at beginning. Develops with the detective thing & Chapparo’s own personal life. I was not sure why we had the love story, really. Not sure it added to the story. Added levels on which the story operated. I found a discussion about the author himself. The author doesn’t trust the state. It is a complex read, with different levels going on. This bk doesn’t gel with my way of thinking. What would it take for our population to resist what is going on? Maybe in the USA they are beginning to wonder where does justice lie. 6/10
Ceri
I started this book eager to learn more about Argentina and the conflict there. So I was rather disappointed to find that there were few mentions about the political conflict going on and there were only a few fleeting references to Ongania, Tucuman Province, and the Montoneros. At times I found the style slightly cloying and disappointing for instance, when Chaparro imagines that he is one of the pages in the file when he is researching the Morales case. Also, this type of writing: ‘It was all so ridiculous it almost made me feel like laughing, except that it was so evil it made me feel like crying.’ I appreciate that the book is translated, but some parts grated with me. I liked the ending, when Chaparro was racing up stairs to see Irene – this love suspense was built up well, and I liked the ‘meta novel’ technique he uses. I think that Is the term for when the author himself dips in and out and we hear the writer’s viewpoint on the book (used in ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’). 6/10
Sheila
I like that style of writing- parts when you are dealing with detective stories. I like to know the detective is alive at the end of it. I agree with Rob- it’s the story of 2 men’s love and how they deal with it differently. When he , Chapparo looked at Morales, if it’s too good to be true, it won’t be true. He knew that his relationship with Liliana was too good to be true. Clever how Chaparro worked out who the murderer was, because of the way he was feeling. That was how he was. That is the essence of it. I wasn’t surprised that Morales had taken Gomez. It would be too quick to get rid of him straight away– it needs to be in slow time, for justice, so that Gomez suffered. In remembering the case it gave Chaparro the confidence to say, I will now see if the secret in her eyes is true love. She was waiting for him to make a move. Morales had no expectation of his life anyway. When Lilliana came into his life, it was a miracle. He never expected anyone as good as her to love him. 8/10
Pippa 8/10
David
I first saw the film before I read the book. Key people are the deputy clerk, the judge, - woman- and protagonist- Chaparro- is in love. v sudden turn at end- didn’t see that coming. This book has all the ingredients of life; jealously, revenge, vindictiveness. Story = Morales very much in love but who committed the murder? Chaparo- investigates it in 2 time periods. 1 period is much later than the events. He also wants to remain in contact with the judge, but never has the courage to express that love. He sees the secret in her eyes. What their eyes are saying, he is interpreting. 1 of his colleagues pins the crime on some builders. Chaparro convinces others that the 2 arrested are not the suspects, the colleague- he gets struck off. Ch is struck by Morales’s love- so he makes it his job to solve the crime. Judiciary wrapped up the case quickly as unsolved. It is only later when he retires, & links up with Irene, that he learns about the dictatorship and corruption. When he works out who the murderer is, & realises he has been released, Gomez woud be a useful person to help get rid of the dissidents who are being targeted. He is a sociopath. Morales has to contend with this, and seeks justice. For Romano, he wanted revenge for Chapparo getting him the sack. Chapparo is in exile at the end, but he picks up the thread of Morales. He discovers the secret of what Morales had done. That was his justice. That was the shock. Justice requires time to inflict the pain equivalent to the pain I have suffered for not having the love of my life. At the end, we are confronted as to why Chaparro does not confront the woman he loves. The film was rather good- was rated in top 100. Book is as good. 8/10
Caroline
Enjoyed it. I like detective novels, & books set in different countries. Easy to read. Characters nicely drawn, believable. Description of work & work colleagues good. Intriguing to see the inside of the court rooms. Loved relationship with Sandoval. Slight problems- 3 things going on at the same time, switching between them. Wondered if he was trying to pad out a detective story. Descriptive thing didn’t add too much for me. When they get Gomez, and Sandoval plays the part of a drunk, it seemed not believable the way the characters interacted. End was weird, too much of a stretch for me. Trying to make something a bit more. But I would read more by this author again. Irritating to not know if Irene will have a relationship with him. 4/10
Rob
Enjoyed it. Didn’t mind the stuff about how you go about writing a book. Like David I found the construction of a shell a bit unrealistic. A big stretch of imagination. An interesting book- Chaparro maintains his integrity & finally transfers it into his personal life, so it’s a love story. What spurs him on is what Morales is prepared to do for the basis of love. What he does may be reprehensible- sacrifices his own life to keep Gomez a prisoner. You need the information about him writing a novel to make the book work. At the end, he finds the strength to approach Irene because of what Morales has done. Love story & detective story together. Love element is v underplayed. It mirrors Chaparro’s diffidence about showing his feelings. A few minor niggles. The backdrop of generals not made much of. Baez & Chaparro discussed Morales- would you do the same thing? Baez said- yes I would. Thank u v much,
4/10
John
It took me a little while to find my feet- 2 time periods, starts out finding the typewriter. Is he writing a novel or a story - of real life? Murder happens at beginning. Develops with the detective thing & Chapparo’s own personal life. I was not sure why we had the love story, really. Not sure it added to the story. Added levels on which the story operated. I found a discussion about the author himself. The author doesn’t trust the state. It is a complex read, with different levels going on. This bk doesn’t gel with my way of thinking. What would it take for our population to resist what is going on? Maybe in the USA they are beginning to wonder where does justice lie. 6/10
Ceri
I started this book eager to learn more about Argentina and the conflict there. So I was rather disappointed to find that there were few mentions about the political conflict going on and there were only a few fleeting references to Ongania, Tucuman Province, and the Montoneros. At times I found the style slightly cloying and disappointing for instance, when Chaparro imagines that he is one of the pages in the file when he is researching the Morales case. Also, this type of writing: ‘It was all so ridiculous it almost made me feel like laughing, except that it was so evil it made me feel like crying.’ I appreciate that the book is translated, but some parts grated with me. I liked the ending, when Chaparro was racing up stairs to see Irene – this love suspense was built up well, and I liked the ‘meta novel’ technique he uses. I think that Is the term for when the author himself dips in and out and we hear the writer’s viewpoint on the book (used in ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’). 6/10
Sheila
I like that style of writing- parts when you are dealing with detective stories. I like to know the detective is alive at the end of it. I agree with Rob- it’s the story of 2 men’s love and how they deal with it differently. When he , Chapparo looked at Morales, if it’s too good to be true, it won’t be true. He knew that his relationship with Liliana was too good to be true. Clever how Chaparro worked out who the murderer was, because of the way he was feeling. That was how he was. That is the essence of it. I wasn’t surprised that Morales had taken Gomez. It would be too quick to get rid of him straight away– it needs to be in slow time, for justice, so that Gomez suffered. In remembering the case it gave Chaparro the confidence to say, I will now see if the secret in her eyes is true love. She was waiting for him to make a move. Morales had no expectation of his life anyway. When Lilliana came into his life, it was a miracle. He never expected anyone as good as her to love him. 8/10
Pippa 8/10