For this week’s blog post, I will be discussing the novel “Money to Burn” by Ricardo Piglia. I found this book to be one of the more interesting reads this semester as I am a big fan of anything thriller. I really enjoy thriller movies and books as they keep you on your toes. I am also a sucker for anything to do with true crime and the legal system. Therefore, after doing some background research on this book I was intrigued by the fact that it was based on a true story. The book is based on a crime that happened in Buenos Aires such that a group of bank robbers were on the run after they had robbed a bank. However, after tips and police reports the men in the gang do get caught in their scheme.
As I started reading the novel and the story of the crime progressed I could not help but to draw connections to Netflix series that are based on similar crimes. One docuseries that specifically stood out to me was “The Greatest Robbery of Brazil’s Central Bank”. This show delved into the biggest robbery in Brazil history which was committed by a group of men similar to this book. In the show, the group of men made history by transporting 3.5 tons of money through tunnels and completing the crime. The difference between the book and show is that in the book the gang gets caught after a certain time whereas in the show all the men do not get caught rather they completed the crime to its greatest extent. The show and the book had their differences but the overarching themes seemed to be related and similar. Hence, this book seemed to be very prevalent as many shows and documentaries that discuss similar crimes in history.
Furthermore, one aspect of the novel that also caught my attention was how it touched on the idea of how relationships suffer or fall apart when under pressure or when the legal system is at play. In crime, it is very common for people to turn on one another or to throw others under the bus if that means being saved from legal trouble. At the time of a crime, everyone seems to be on the same page but the precautions that follow it can be treacherous and unexpected. With that being said, I enjoyed reading this novel and it has become one of my favourites this semester.
Discussion Question:
Did this book remind you of any other movie or book and if so what did it remind you of?
“after tips and police reports the men in the gang do get caught”
But they don’t in fact get caught, do they? I think you need to think a little more about what happens in the second half of the book…
“how relationships suffer or fall apart when under pressure or when the legal system is at play”
Do we see this in the novel? Which relationships fall apart, and which ones do not? Indeed, aren’t some relationships in fact strengthened under the pressure here?
A little more attention to the text would be good here, Puneet.
Hi Jon,
As for my comment on being caught I might have been a bit unclear on what I specifically meant regarding that. I think I was more so trying to touch on this idea that the legal system was at play to some extent, not necessarily speaking on punishment or the act of actually being “caught”. I think the usage of the word “caught” may have sounded a bit misleading.
Also, in regards to the relationships idea, I was speaking upon how the relationships in the novel are impacted and how crime overall can cause suffrage. I can agree that some of the relationships were strengthened but my overall idea was to touch on crime in society. However, I can understand the confusion caused by the wording of these ideas!