La muerte lenta de Luciana B. (The Slow Death of Luciana B.)
Reviewed by Sylvia D. Hall-Ellis, Univ. of Denver -- Críticas, 5/15/2008
Martínez, Guillermo.
U.S.: Rayo: HarperCollins & Planeta. 2008. 230p. ISBN 978-0-06-156551-9. pap. $14.95. FICTION
Mathematician and professor Martínez is emerging as an important literary voice in Argentina: in 2003, he received the Planeta Prize for Los crímenes de Oxford (The Oxford Murders), now a motion picture to be released in 2008. With his seventh novel, Martínez raises the suspense thriller genre to a new level. In the ten years since Luciana worked for the famous writer Kloster, she has grown terrified, anxious, and suspicious of everyone and everything. She’s convinced that the tragic deaths of her boyfriend and their loved ones are part of a sinister, methodical plan. When Luciana accuses Kloster of the murders and he relentlessly defends himself, the anonymous narrator stands by calmly as the characters (and the reader) ponder the possibilities. Were the deaths accidental, or were they murders? The ambiguous, skillfully crafted dialogs make either outcome possible, and readers will get a new appreciation of the metaphysical as the protagonist vacillates between revenge and punishment. The result, a well-written narrative full of refined literary allusions, is part police investigation, part suspense, and part psychological thriller. Recommended for large public libraries and academic libraries supporting graduate studies in contemporary Latin American literature.
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