“you have fuck-all to do and so you read” (74)

That was me this past weekend. Well, not quite, I also had studying and work to do haha, but there was also lots of time to read.

As someone who typically shies away from thrillers or crime novels, diving into “Money to Burn” felt the most like stepping outside of my comfort zone so far this term. Surprisingly, I found myself quite invested with the narrative.

One habit I’ve noticed in myself, especially apparent while reading this book, is the tendency to speculate about potential diagnoses for characters. For instance, Malito’s germophobic tendencies (like washing his hands with rubbing alcohol) and ritualistic behaviour could suggest OCD, while Gaucho’s auditory hallucinations alludes to schizophrenia. Of course, I’m no professional, and these musings are merely observations on character traits and speculations.

During the lecture this week, we were prompted to consider the significance of the contrast between Piglia’s adherence to truth and his fictional additions. I found myself particularly intrigued by Piglia’s reimagining of real-life individuals as fictional characters. Further, I am keen to ponder the significance of Piglia’s portrayal of the criminals with clear connections to mental illness, despite never having met them. I can’t help but wonder if his emphasis on their personalities was influenced by bias surrounding mental illness. The erroneous belief that mental illness inherently leads to violent behavior is a prevalent misconception. It’s possible that Piglia’s portrayal reflects societal prejudices that place mental illness and criminality in the same box. However, it’s equally plausible that his characterization was driven by unrelated factors entirely. Perhaps there is some truth to this aspect too, and this was a correct depiction of the criminals’ identities. We will never truly know.

In a totally different direction, I want to discuss friendship within this book a bit, because to me it was very complicated and intertwined with other forms of relationships (whether those were transactional, romantic, or abusive). The homo-erotic friendship and love shared between Kid and Gaucho is one that I am sure comes to everyone’s mind. Their bond which is originally equated to that of twins is soon twisted to reveal a very different type of love. However, throughout the novel and the various shapes their relationship takes, it is evident that a love and friendship exists within the forms. Even though I did not condone a lot of Gaucho’s behaviour, I did feel quite awful for his backstory and especially the treatment of him after the Kid dies in his arms and he is then shot and beaten mercilessly. Throughout his life, the Kid is the one who is always there for him even when the rest of the world is abusing him, or beating him (whether metaphorically or not), but in the end, he has no one.

Another unique demonstration of a relationship/friendship are those held between criminals and Malito. It appears that he leaves quite the impact on those he meets and the friends he makes in the criminal world. For example, when Nando is caught and interrogated by the police, he really tries not to sing, because he considers Malito to be a close friend who had shared such profound ideas. Malito’s influence on Nando is quite great in my mind, as Nando claims that if they want this information they might have to kill him. Lastly, (since this is getting long!) the relationship between the main robbers (aka: Gaucho, the Kid, and Crowe Mereles) and Malito shows also a unique dynamic where the three look to him as a Godly figure, and perhaps a saviour. They turn to him for instruction and later fantasize about him saving them from the shoot-out.

I have much more to say and connections to draw, but I’ll leave it here. Anyways, I am curious, which relationship had the greatest impact on you when reading? Or alternatively, which dynamic seemed the most complicated to you? (But you are not allowed to talk about the one between the Kid and Gaucho cause that’s too easy (shush, I know I am being hypocritical hah!))