tlashop.com

Review

The streets are empty at night, and people notice nothing because they have trained themselves not to see. It is Argentina in the time of the generals. Richard Garay lives alone with his mother, hiding his sexuality from her and from the world. Stifled by a job he despises, he is willing to take chances, both sexual and professional. But the Falklands War enables him to discard the British ness he has inherited from his mother, and the arrival of two American "diplomats" (actually CIA operatives) offers him new hope and the prospect of making his fortune. Argentina is changing, and as his country slowly makes its peace with the outside world, Richard tentatively begins a love affair. The relationship deepens, but Richard realizes the experience is gradually becoming a nightmare, and he tells his picaresque story with a mixture of confessional guilt and awestruck wonder. A serious, somber and sensuous book. A wonderful read, with a deeply evocative portriat of gay life in Argentina.