{"id":56,"date":"2026-03-15T23:46:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T06:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/muhtadi\/?p=56"},"modified":"2026-03-15T23:46:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T06:46:53","slug":"money-and-madness-ahh-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/muhtadi\/2026\/03\/15\/money-and-madness-ahh-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Money and Madness ahh book"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Money to Burn was different compared to many of the other books we\u2019ve read in this course. A lot of the earlier novels focused heavily on memory, reflection, and long internal thoughts, but this one moves through crime, police investigations, and action. It actually feels like a story unfolding rather than just a series of reflections. At times it almost reads like a true crime report rather than a traditional novel. The narrative shifts between different perspectives, police accounts, and conversations, which can be a little confusing at first, but it also makes the whole event feel much more real.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What stood out to me most was the strange mix of chaos and intimacy within the group of criminals. The gang escapes to Montevideo after the robbery and as the police begin to close in on them, they hide out in an apartment where most of the tension in the story unfolds. Even though the robbery is what drives the plot, the novel seems much more interested in the psychology of the characters than the crime itself.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n
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The relationship between Dorda and Brignone was an interesting one to me. Their connection feels deeper and more emotional than the typical partnership you might expect between criminals. While the group is falling apart under pressure, the loyalty between them remains strong. At the same time, Dorda\u2019s mental instability makes everything more unpredictable. His paranoia and violent outbursts create a sense that things are inevitably heading toward disaster. It felt like the novel was constantly building tension not just through the police closing in, but through the characters slowly losing control of the situation.<\/p>\n

One of the most memorable moments in the book is when the gang begins burning the stolen money while they are trapped in the apartment. That scene really stuck with me because it completely changes the meaning of the robbery. They risked everything to steal the money, yet in the end they destroy it themselves. It almost feels like an act of defiance, as if they would rather burn the money than let the authorities take it back. In that moment the story stops being just about crime and becomes something more symbolic about power, rebellion, and the absurdity of risking lives for wealth.<\/p>\n

Reading this also reminded me of when Pablo Escobar was on the run, and burned about 2 million dollar simply to keep his daughter warm . While the situations are obviously very different, the image of money being treated as something disposable felt strangely similar. In both cases, something that normally represents power and wealth becomes meaningless in a moment of desperation.<\/p>\n

Overall, Money to Burn felt messy and intense but also real. None of the characters really come across as clear heroes or villains. Instead, it feels like you\u2019re watching a group of people slowly spiral deeper into a situation they can\u2019t escape. By the end, it didn\u2019t feel like the story was just about a robbery anymore, but more about desperation, loyalty, and how quickly things can fall apart once everything starts going south.<\/p>\n

Discussion Question:
Do you think the gang burning the money was an act of rebellion against the system, or was it simply the final sign that everything had spiraled out of control?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Money to Burn was different compared to many of the other books we\u2019ve read in this course. A lot of the earlier novels focused heavily on memory, reflection, and long internal thoughts, but this one moves through crime, police investigations, and action. It actually feels like a story unfolding rather than just a series of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107823,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[25,24],"class_list":["post-56","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-piglia","tag-madness","tag-money"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/muhtadi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/muhtadi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/muhtadi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/muhtadi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107823"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/muhtadi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/muhtadi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/muhtadi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56\/revisions\/57"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/muhtadi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/muhtadi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/muhtadi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}