The book is an adaptation of a real case that took place in Buenos Aires and Montevideo in 1965. There is no doubt that this is a crime novel. Personally, this book really made me feel uncomfortable. The book is filled with tons of crime, drug use, robberies, shootings, etc., and even beyond that, there are some descriptions of the criminals’ psychology. I’ve read a lot of novels where the author would simply describe the crime process and put more on how to catch the criminals or even the life of the criminals in prison. This is because it’s usually hard for readers to empathize with criminals, most of them won’t understand why the crime was committed, much less care about how it was committed, but would prefer to have a stable society. Another reason why my brow furrowed when I read this book is because I would feel uneasy about the crime, even though I knew it was just a novel and that the story didn’t happen to me.

I disliked this book even more from a female perspective. I did not see any respect for women in this book. The word “whores” is mentioned over and over again, as if there is no other word to describe women. When women are mentioned in this book, you don’t feel equal as human beings, but rather as tools for men to play with, laugh at, and have fun with! On the other hand, I don’t know if this insulting of women is a way of portraying criminals, or in other words, if this insulting of women is a deliberate attempt by the author of this book to make the characters in this book more fleshed out or realistic (we all know that it’s based on real life events), or if it’s just a way of portraying criminals (i.e., it’s a default of the author to say that most of the criminals insult women). I tried to figure out if the insults were necessary, but obviously I didn’t find an answer. All I felt was very uncomfortable.

In fact, before reading this book, I was expecting the constant pull of self-conscience and criminal behavior. But after reading it, I saw violent crime and political undercurrents, and even the presence of corrupt behavior within the police. It’s not that this is wrong, it’s just that I saw so much darkness in this book that I felt overwhelmed.

My question is: Are there any other classic crime novels besides this one?