Argentinac

Inspector Lascano #2

by Ernesto Mallo, Tamara Horvat Kanjera (Translator)

Inspektor Lascano uvučen je u sukob između pretendenta na mjesto šefa policije Buenos Airesa i Apostolesa, skupine pokvarenih policajaca koji se bave trgovinom droge i žele preuzeti kontrolu nad gradom. Kada tek imenovani šef policije bude smaknut, Lascano postaje iduća meta. Njegov jedini spas je u bijegu iz zemlje za što mu hitno treba novac…
U drugom romanu iz serije o inspektoru Lascanu, Mallo stvara uvjerljivu sliku Argentine 1980-ih u kojoj generali hunte sada paradiraju na sudu u civilnoj odjeći, tretirani kao obični sitni lopovi, dok žene s trga Plaza de Mayo gledaju kako oni koji su im oteli djecu prolaze nekažnjeni. Ali snaga romana zapravo leži u dirljivom portretu dvojice slomljenih muškaraca, jednog policajca i jednog lopova, čija humanost je neprestano na kušnji.
„Uzbudljivo, šokantno štivo koje potiče na razmišljanje.“ Guardian

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction

196 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Ernesto Mallo en su página oficial de Internet, se define de esta manera: "Nací demasiado joven y sin la debida preparación para enfrentar este mundo. A los seis años tuve que abandonar mi educación para asistir a la escuela. A los veinte pensé que era mi deber cambiar el mundo. Lo cambié, es éste, disculpe."

Director teatral, guionista, dramaturgo, traductor y periodista, comenzó su carrera como novelista con La Aguja en el Pajar (Planeta, 2006), obra que fue primer finalista del Premio Clarín de Novela (2204) y ganadora del premio Memorial Silverio Cañada (2007) que se imparte en la célebre Semana Negra de Gijón, España, y resultó un gran éxito de público y crítica. La continuación, Delincuente Argentino, (Planeta 2007) fue finalista del Premio Dashiell Hammet (2008). Sus novelas se han traducido al inglés, francés y alemán. Las versiones cinematográficas de ambas novelas, con guión del mismo autor, están en vías de realización. Vive y trabaja en Buenos Aires.

Reviews

[Ernesto Mallo]

I'm the author

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely perfect.

[Sanja · Rating 1 out of 5]

Željela sam se odmoriti od vrlo zahtjevne i emotivno napete knjige koju sam pročitala i odlučila sam napokon uzeti ovo djelo. Na naslovnici stoji “ šokantno, briljantno...bla bla...The Guardian”. Ponukana tom opaskom prestižnog časopisa krenula sam u avanturu. Koja je završila vec na prvoj stranici. Bezbroj likova, nesuvisle kratke rečenice, dijalozi u kurzivu redari bez interpunkcije, neprohodno, nepovezana naracija, očajna lektura... ne znam zasto sam se uopce mučila citati nakon nekoliko stranica. Uvijek si govorim da ima toliko divnih djela na svijetu ima da ne valja trošiti vrijeme na ono sto ne ide, a opet se prisilim citati do kraja. Mozda bi izvornik bio znatno bolji, no ovaj prijevod i stil pisanja definitivno nije po mom ukusu. Tko voli, nek izvoli!

[Craig Sisterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published more than a decade ago and set in the 1980s among the messy aftermath of the military junta that terrorised Argentina for years following a right-wing overthrow of the Argentinean government in 1976, Ernesto Mallo's SWEET MONEY is a slim but powerful crime novel.

Buenos Aires is a city rife with corruption. Many of those in positions of power are more violent and criminal than the criminals they're theoretically tasked with stopping. Inside this maelstrom, Superintendent Lascano tries to maintain a semblance of honour and ethics even as those very things may get you killed by those who fear and cannot trust anyone who isn't on the take alongside them.

SWEET MONEY is a vivid and blistering expose of life in Argentina in the early-mid 1980s. Even as the military junta came to an end and some sort of democracy was restored, the after-effects of years where suspicion and fear were the order of the day and 30,000 people were 'disappeared' means that daily life is still turbulent and dangerous. The hyenas are scrapping for survival in a changing world.

Perro Lascano is recovering from being gunned down by a death squad, but returning to his old job may be even more dangerous after the new Chief of Police, a tainted man who despite his flaws valued and protected Lascano, is murdered. Dirty cops are circling like vultures. Lascano wants to uphold justice and be a good cop, but his world may not let him. Meanwhile another man with a broken life, 'Mole' Miranda, is released from prison. A non-violent robber who has his own sense of honour, Mole is forced to return to his former life despite wanting to go straight. When the ' one last job' goes horribly wrong, Mole finds Lascano on his tail. Two rather decent men in a corrupt society.

Mallo delivers a compelling, gritty, atmospheric tale in his own distinct style. For example, dialogue is run-together in italics, which takes a wee adjustment by readers, but the story is so good that I didn't find it too distracting and quickly got into the flow. There's plenty of 'bigger' ideas and issues touched upon as the crime story unfolds, giving SWEET MONEY a strong sense of layer and depth. Lascano is a philosophical character, and the author muses on various topics throughout, but this never takes away from the rich story. The second in a planned trilogy, SWEET MONEY is a terrific book and we can only hope that at some point English-speaking readers can look forward to a third.

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Money is very much the second book in the Inspector Lascano trilogy and I would recommend reading Needle in a Haystack first. That said, this could be read as a standalone, and very good it is to. The story has a gritty realism, with some very nice prose and good dialogue. My sense is that the translator, Katherine Silver, has done an excellent job at keeping the richness of description in the text. The real strengths of the book are the character development, evocation of the history and politics of early 1980s Argentina, its very well developed sense of place, and the carefully structured and layered plotting. There are a couple of nice twists and turns and a couple of lovely sucker punches, especially the one at the end. Like the first book I found the continuous stream of dialogue, where the reader has to work out when one person has stopped talking and another started, and who is talking, a little bit too much unnecessary work. Other than that, which didn’t really detract from the story itself, I really thought this was an excellent read.

[Jelena Milašinović · Rating 3 out of 5]

Argentinac mi je nekako bio zanimljiviji krimić od svog prethodnika Zločin u Židovskoj četvrti. Jedina stvar koja mi je užasno išla na živce u knjizi je kako su svi dijalozi raspoređeni u jednom paragrafu, pa je malo teže pohvatat tko što govori.

[Učitaj se! | Martina Štivičić · Rating 4 out of 5]

Druga knjiga o Mallovom inspektoru Lascanu nastavlja u istom tonu kao prva: to je vrlo dobar noir u svom najčišćem obliku, s onom mračnom atmosferom nalik na dimnu zavjesu kakvu inače možemo susresti u romanima ovog žanra. Likovi su, također, tipični 'noirovski', a predvodi ih Lascano - lik na strani pravde, ali koji ne zazire od povremenog kročenja i 'onom stranom zakona' kako bi postigao svoj cilj; cinik kojega prate sjene iz prošlosti i koji je netom izgubio svoju femme fatale, Evu, za koju se ipak nada da je još živa i da će ju s vremenom pronaći. S druge je strane 'Krtica' Miranda, kriminalac s vjerom u bolju budućnost i željom da se promjeni i nastavi svoj život s prave strane zakona, ali kojemu nikako da prestanu na put padati 'problemi' koji ga u tom njegovom naumu sprečavaju.

Kako se donedavno kod nas nije baš mogao pronaći prevelik broj naslova ovog žanra, čiji sam ljubitelj, svaki naslov koji se pojavi odmah zadobije moju pažnju. Sam serijal oslikava Argentinu s početka 80-ih, u vremenu kad je vlast u zemlji bila neprestano na rubu promjene: tek što se, nakon vojne hunte, ponovno uspostavila kakva-takva civilna vlast, ostaci prethodnog razdoblja nastavili su vrebati u prikrajcima kako bi iskoristili svaku priliku za povratak na staro ili barem za zataškavanje i 'čišćenje' svega što bi ih moglo inkriminirati (bilo da se radilo o dokumentaciji ili živim svjedocima), kako bi izbjegli moguće osude i sankcije u nadolazećem procesuiranju zločina i suđenja vojnoj hunti.

Ako niste čitali prvi roman iz serijala o inspektoru Lascanu, 'Zločin u židovskoj četvrti', preporučam da prvo njega pročitate, jer se događaji u 'Argentincu' direktno nastavljaju na one iz 'Zločina'. Lascano ne rješava zasebne, potpuno odvojene kriminalističke slučajeve. Sumnjivci i ostali akteri njegovih istraga, kao i same istrage, ulaze i izlaze iz fokusa, mijenjaju se u nešto drugo, od saveznika postaju neprijatelji, a od neprijatelja saveznici, dok riješeni slučajevi prerastaju u nešto sasvim drugo, neki dio puno veće slike koja je Lascanu dotada bila izvan fokusa, a tek se sada počela kristalizirati. Naizgled nepovezani događaji koji se odigravaju istovremeno mogu postati tek komadići u nekoj većoj slagalici koju tek treba riješiti, ali mogu biti i upravo to - tek nepovezani niz događaja koji se igrom slučaja dogode približno u isto vrijeme.

Duža recenzija je na FB stranici

[Tamara Damjanovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, it was quite hard to follow the story since I haven't read the first part and since I don't know much about history of Argentina. On the other hand, the story has some plot twists that were quote unbeliavable for me and it lacked dynamics in development in general. Also, one of the things that kept me constantly confused was using a whole bunch of names and nicknames for only one character (sometimes the same person is refered to by name, by last name or by nickname) so I had to write them all down to keep track. Introducing new characters was abrupt and for some of them I felt they were completely unnecessary for the main plot (Vanina, for example).
So, in general, although I could mainly understand what I've read in the end, often it was confusing and filled with side stories for which I felt they were rather a burden than exploration of a good plot base.
Nevertheless, I liked the not so harsh realistic style and the main characters, since they were well written as two genuinely good guys in a world gone mad...

[Rafa Aguirre Ezquerra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo más complicado de entender para el lector, al menos en mi caso, por desconocido y por lo lejos que está en el tiempo, es la realidad social y política que dibuja Mallo.

Mantiene su estilo narrativo, tan atractivo para el hispanohablante, y que debe de ser un 'infierno' para el traductor y lector en otros idiomas.

Es importante haber leído la primera parte para entender a los personajes y su forma de actuar. Y como ocurre con ese volumen, se demuestra que no es necesario escribir páginas de relleno cuando en apenas 200 hojas te sobra para completar una buena obra.

Otra muesca para mi galería de autores predilectos.

[Andy Weston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top quality, and better than Needle in a Haystack.
Manages to relate to the political scene in Argentina at the time also. Really this book is a lot better than most crime novels that are pushed bu publishers in Eurpoe and USA at the moment.
I know Ernesto is a member of Goodreads - and so without writing a spoiler I ask, what for the future of El Perro? The end was not expected - although the last quarter of the book lived up to expectations!

[Thomas Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite good but not in the same class as Needle in the Haystack mainly because the ending is untidy.

[Francisco Machado · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book about the violent and corrupt world that dominated Argentina. Loscano is recovering from being shot. The Apostles, a violent group of policemen want to kill him. The Mole, a serial thief, is due for release from prison. He needs just one more job to raise funds to go straight. The policeman and the thief develop a symbiotic relationship in order to survive. This is the second in a trilogy. It will be a tragedy if the third book is not translated and published in English.

[Lana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read the book halfway through, and I just couldn't continue. The book is confusing, I could barely concentrate on what I was reading, couldn't connect a thing... This is only the second book I couldn't read to the end. For me it's a no.

[Shiela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Likable characters. The style of writing takes a little getting used to - confusing leaps to next scene without warning.
He captures the historical times of Argentina very nicely. The translator left enough spattering of Spanish words so we would not forget the setting.

[Jesús · Rating 3 out of 5]

La primera novela de esta serie (El crimen del barrio del Once) me sorprendió y la recomiendo. Sin embargo, esta segunda no me ha llegado tanto.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Mole Miranda is released from jail he pledges to never again rob banks and to go home to his wife and child. After all, his cohort in the crime has been keeping the money safe, right? When it is revealed that the lovely young daughter of his friend has been diagnosed with cancer and all the money has been used for her treatment Mole decides one last job is in order.
Mallo brings us in to the dubious character painting him at once wretched and loveable, and in fact by the time you think that he is the protagonist along comes former superintendent Lascano, a man left for dead and who has even been replaced on the police force so that he has become persona non grata. Not a bad place he surmises, since it is the corrupt cops on the force that had originally done him in anyway.
Like Orwell before him, Mallo is one that believes to be successful you don’t follow the norm, in fact, break any of these regular rules. All dialogue takes place is a separate paragraph, all run together, and written in italics. For a speed reader like me it takes an immense amount of concentration to read each sentence and figure out when the other party is talking. More than a little confusing. Luckily for Mallo is does not detract from either the plot or the eloquent language that this fine work of art is written in.
When female problems and money become a common denominator the former criminal and the former cop find their paths crossing at every occasion possible to the point that they cannot deny the bond that has developed and the liking they have for each other. With the final scene you find yourself whistling the theme song “The Girl from Ipanema” and visions from an old Bogart movie dance before your eyes. All in all, a most satisfying read.

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

the 2nd Mallo translated to english. Set in Buenos Aires in post-horror years, with Perro the cop "coming back from the dead" luck in to solving crimes, get his heart broken even more than it was, start smoking again and disappear into the Brazilian sunset. A taut police procedural with same inside-the-head style as the first, Needle in Haystack, and the small amount of dialog as italicized run together sentences at the ends or beginnings of chapters. The things that make these superior novels are accurate and colorful history and setting, a palatable, heartbreakingly sad lovelife, and a real understanding of the wickedness, the nightmare, of Argentina during their holocaust and what that does to a society, straight or crooked.

[Alta]

Sweet Money by Ernesto Mallo (Trans. from Spanish by Katherine Silver. Bitter Lemon Press, 2011).

I normally don’t read mysteries, so when I was offered this book I was sure I wouldn’t read more than a few pages. I ended up reading the whole book, and was surprised that not only was it suspenseful (which I had anticipated), but it was also fairly intelligent, well structured, and written in a minimalist style that goes well with the plot. The background is that of the 1980s Buenos Aires, and, as expected, the criminal and the political world are intertwined. Add to this Silver’s great skills as a translator, and you’ll have a very enjoyable read.

[Željko Erceg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kažu - drugi dio trilogije, no pročitate li "Zločin u židovskoj četvrti", pa "Argentinac", sve će stvari biti razjašnjene i treći dio ćete očekivati samo u želji da nastavite čitati Mallove knjige. Uostalom, treći dio nije preveden ni na engleski, tko zna kad će na hrvatski. :'(
I dalje je glavni forte knjige opis korupcijskog društva, vojne hunte, Argentine, ... no iako je drugo mjesto, drugo vrijeme, druga radnja, ... kad sklopite zadnju stranicu "Argentinca", na pamet će vam pasti "Casablanca" i Humphrey Boggart. Dakle, vrijedi krenuti u potragu za "duologijom" Ernesta Malla.

[Michele Abrams Lehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second in the series- following "Needle in a Haystack." Argentina, 1980's. The military regime has fallen. Inspector Lascano has lost everything and is trying to put his life back together. A lighter read than the first book. Interesting look at life in Argentina during that time period.

[Eurocrime]

NB. Has 223 pages in UK edition. Enjoyable sequel to Needle in a Haystack.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought it would be better.