Where to even begin on this whirlwind of a novel. Ricardo Piglia’s Money to Burn was genuinely one of my favourite reads of the course thus far. I think this has to do with the writing style in part because it felt very engaging to follow along but also I felt as if I could visually watch the story unfold in my head. The plot at times was extremely graphic and wicked, especially towards women which definitely threw me off, sometimes this makes me question if such violence is necessary to the story and adds to the plot, or perhaps it is only trying to represent the narrative of the truth. I also felt like we were reading this story as if it was the future of when these events took place and at times it similarly felt like we were reading the police report of the accounted events (“witnesses say…”, etc.). Overall, the narration felt very fragmented because of this which I quite enjoyed.
I also noticed that this is now I believe the fifth book I have read that uses a Judas metaphor somewhere in the book. This makes me think that perhaps the theme of betrayal is a common theme throughout some of these novels. But it could also be a common literary tool used to keep the reader more engaged. You typically expect those in a group to be loyal to one another however there are also hints of betrayal lingering in this story like Blanquita ratting out her accomplices or forcing Yamandú out the window after their altercation with the police. I wouldn’t say that betrayal is necessarily a central theme throughout these books, but it is one that I noticed has constantly lingered in the background. I also think that goes to show how the thieves crave violence which becomes their source of power not necessarily the money. It was their “taste for evil” that ultimately made them “degenerates”. It is crazy to me that with all that they have done, it is the burning of the money that becomes personified in the story — ‘burning innocent money is an act of cannibalism’ — but also makes the thieves “immoral beasts” as if the violence and killing wasn’t enough and instead this became their noted act of “terrorism”. They state that money holds this neutral innocence however just like people, I would argue that money also holds political ties whether to the capitalist or the communist. In a way, money represents the government, whatever that government may be.
I don’t know much about Argentina so I feel as if there is not much I can speak about it’s political context, however, I feel as if I can add to the conversation in terms of mate, specifically yerba mate which I know is a typical Argentinian drink and mentioned a few times in the book. Therefore, if I had to pick a drinks pairing for this week, it would be Yerba Mate (specifically the mint or blueberry one). If you’re a fan of iced tea or tea in general I definitely recommend. Just in time for reading this book they recently came out with two new flavours berry lemonade and peach! (update: DO NOT get berry lemonade and peach it was absolutely atrocious) (update 2: I found out they are atrocious because they are supposed to be a new “low calorie” formula. We demand the calories back!!!)
My question for this week would be: Do you think that certain themes of violence in books are necessary drivers for the plot or the environment? Or perhaps that in itself is a genre?