Newly-Published Novel by Arturo Perez-Reverte

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BarkellWH

Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC

Newly-Published Novel by Arturo Pere...

For those Foro members who like the Spanish author Arturo Perez-Reverte, he has a new novel out (in English translation) entitled "What We Become." Originally published in Spain in 2012 and entitled "El Tango de la Guardia Vieja," according to reviews its two protagonists, a roguish type and a society lady, meet in 1928 on an ocean liner from Lisbon to Buenos Aires. They are separated for years at a time, meeting again in 1937 in Nice, and again in the 1960s in Sorrento.

The novel encompasses the bars and bordellos of Buenos Aires, the Spanish Civil War, the Cold War, the tango, and chess, and I'm sure much else. Perez-Reverte knows his history, and he always inserts historical events into his elegantly written mysteries. I continue to highly recommend Perez-Reverte's "The Siege," which I briefly reviewed in November 2014. I repeat my review below.

"Speaking of Cadiz, I would like to recommend a novel by the Spanish author Arturo Perez-Reverte entitled "The Siege." The siege in question is a historical fact that occurred in 1811 when French forces laid siege to Cadiz during the Peninsular War, which was a sideshow in the greater effort by Napolean to conquer Europe. It provides the backdrop for a murder mystery. Several women are murdered in Cadiz during the siege, and although they at first appear to be random, police comisario Rogelio Tizon notices a pattern. In the quest for answers Cadiz becomes a giant chessboard."

Arturo Perez-Reverte has written many novels. Pick up any one and you will be in for a treat. But these two, his latest, are among his best. (I know I'm anticipating "What We Become" to be one of his best before I have read it, but I am confident it will be.)

Bill

_____________________________

And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."

--Rudyard Kipling

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 5 2016 18:37:41

Richard Jernigan

Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA

RE: Newly-Published Novel by Arturo ... (in reply to BarkellWH)

Thanks for the tip, Bill.

Amazon.es has paperback copies of "El Tango de la Guardia Vieja" for close to 40 euros minimum. They say it would be shipped from Mexico. Amazon.com (USA) lists sellers who have first edition hardbacks of the English version for $10 + shipping. It seems to me that Spanish publishers typically do short press runs, which make their products scarce after only a few years.

There is a large, successful local bookstore here in Austin which carries Perez-Reverte's books. I'll be on the lookout for it on my next visit.

RNJ

Speaking of Tangos de la Guardia Vieja:
https://www.editionsorphee.com/store/prat-tangos-de-la-guardia-vieja.html

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 5 2016 19:47:10

Piwin

Posts: 3559
Joined: Feb. 9 2016

RE: Newly-Published Novel by Arturo ... (in reply to BarkellWH)

Thanks for the recommendation. I was looking for something to do during my evening stroll around the park, a reason to take a break on a bench. This just might do the trick.

_____________________________

"Anything you do can be fixed. What you cannot fix is the perfection of a blank page. What you cannot fix is that pristine, unsullied whiteness of a screen or a page with nothing on it—because there’s nothing there to fix."

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 6 2016 20:53:00

Richard Jernigan

Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA

RE: Newly-Published Novel by Arturo ... (in reply to Richard Jernigan)

I picked up a copy of Perez-Reverte's "What We Become" at Book People here in Austin last night--a little more expensive than Amazon's cheapest, but I like to support the local store, though I buy a fair amount from Amazon.

It's in the stack to be read after I finish Massie's massive "Peter the Great, His Life and World," a fascinating biography of the great modernizing Tsar.

Also bought a copy of Donna Leon's latest, "About Face." It's one of a series of police procedurals set in Venice. She is an American who has lived in Venice for many years. I like her depiction of Venetian scenery and atmosphere, and her Italian characters.

When we were in Venice last year we had salads and glasses of wine for lunch one day in one of the front rooms of Florian's, with a big window which opens onto the arcade around the Piazza San Marco. Leon was close by at the next table, by herself, writing occasionally on a pad of paper. The atmosphere was informal and friendly, so I told her how much I enjoyed her work. She chatted charmingly for a few minutes.

RNJ

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 7 2016 19:47:30

BarkellWH

Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC

RE: Newly-Published Novel by Arturo ... (in reply to Richard Jernigan)

My copy of Perez-Reverte's "What We Become" sits on my book shelf awaiting my completion of "Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America," by the historian T.J. Stiles, who was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for history for his effort. Heretofore, the best biography I had read of George Armstrong Custer was "Son of the Morning Star," by Evan Connell. But "Son of the Morning Star," like many other biographies of Custer, seemed geared to lead to his death on June 25, 1876 at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Well, T.J. Stiles has taken a different tack. When reading “Custer’s Trials,” what quickly becomes clear is that while perhaps no man is better known for his death, Custer had a remarkably full life. Last in his class at West Point, he performed heroically in the Civil War. He was brevetted a Brigadier General at the age of 23 and became a Major General at 24. He tried his hand at both finance on Wall Street and writing. He was a failure at finance, although his writing was not bad. His greatest claim to fame was as an Indian fighter, and at that he was very good. Nevertheless, he also faced a court martial for leaving his post of duty to visit his wife. He is best known, of course, for the debacle at the Little Big Horn. Many military historians claim he violated one of the cardinal principles of tactical warfare: he divided his force in the face of superior numbers.

Stiles does not even relate the events at the Little Big Horn. His biography ends with Custer leading the Seventh Cavalry Regiment out for its date with destiny, the regimental band playing "GarryOwen," an old Irish drinking song adopted by the Seventh Cavalry as its regimental marching song. This is biography at its best, and it places Custer's life in a far more interesting light than just relating events leading up to his death. And it points out how Custer was caught between the old life on the plains and the changing America which he could not accommodate.

Bill

_____________________________

And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."

--Rudyard Kipling

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 7 2016 20:54:54

Paul Magnussen

Posts: 1805
Joined: Nov. 8 2010
From: London (living in the Bay Area)

RE: Newly-Published Novel by Arturo ... (in reply to Richard Jernigan)

quote:

Also bought a copy of Donna Leon's latest, "About Face." It's one of a series of police procedurals set in Venice.

Thanks, I’ll give that a try.

I recently finished John Julius Norwich’s A History of Venice. He’s one of the best writers I’ve ever come across, and I’ve since been working my way through everything else he’s written.

P.S. I see that Ms Leon won’t let her books be translated into Italian, because she doesn’t want to be famous where she lives. Very sensible.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 8 2016 16:46:56

BarkellWH

Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC

RE: Newly-Published Novel by Arturo ... (in reply to Paul Magnussen)

Paul,

If you are interested in fine travel writing and Venice, I highly recommend "The World of Venice," by the British writer Jan Morris. Jan Morris has traveled to and written about many interesting cities, and her book on Venice is a gem.

Bill

_____________________________

And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."

--Rudyard Kipling

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 8 2016 18:14:33

Richard Jernigan

Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA

RE: Newly-Published Novel by Arturo ... (in reply to BarkellWH)

A few blocks east of the Piazza San Marco in Venice is an area with a number of restaurants, many with outdoor tables in warm weather. During the tourist season they are filled with people from many countries. We were walking about after 9 PM, deciding where to eat.

As we passed one place in a street with no outdoor tables, the owner (manager?) was standing at the door, next to a display of very good looking fresh fish and seafood. He spoke to us, inviting us in to the nearly empty restaurant. Larisa replied in Italian, jokingly asking for a discount. The man replied, offering ten percent. We went in.

The middle aged waiters were gallantly polite, full of friendliness and compliments (all in Italian) as one would expect Italian men to address a nice looking young woman.

The menu was poorly organized, and printed badly, so we asked the waiter for recommendations. We ordered salads, a whole roasted bronzino (local sea bass) some side dishes and wine. The fish was shown to us for our approval before it was prepared. The food was excellent, cooked perfectly, the wine was good, the staff charming. The prices were perhaps 10-20% higher than in other restaurants in the area, but we thought the food was better, and the staff incomparable.

We enjoyed our meal very much, and returned a couple of times. The place was never full. There were few tourists, most of the customers were Italian. I am not familiar enough with local dialects to reliably pick out where people are from, but Larisa, who lived nearby for four years, pointed out that some people were speaking Veneziano, which is hardly comprehensible to people from other regions.

Back home one day I looked up the place on Tripadvisor. There were a few very complimentary reviews, and a very long list of one-star comments panning the place. People complained that the prices were high, the menu incomprehensible, the staff distant, the tablecloths were paper--paper tablecloths are common in all but the very most expensive restaurants in Italy.

I pointed out the bad reviews to Larisa. After talking it over, we theorized that the place had made a reputation with the Venetian middle class, but had not lowered its prices nor its standards to attract tourists. The staff seemed to have been there for a long time, but they were still quick and attentive to us. All our interaction with them was in Italian, so perhaps their tourist languages were lacking a little, inhibiting the warmth and friendliness we experienced.

The middle class has been very much driven out of Venice by rising real estate prices and high rents. Furthermore, everything you buy there is notably more expensive than in Mestre, just a few miles away on the mainland. If you are out and about early, you will see the freight boats in the canals being unloaded, the porters carrying literally everything for daily use on handcarts to their destinations. It is as though everything I buy in Austin were delivered to my door by the U.S. Postal Service, UPS or Fedex.

I am sure we will return to Venice, and I hope our friends at the restaurant are still in business. Despite the effects of rampant tourism the city is strikingly beautiful and impressive, and many of the people you meet every day are friendly and charming.

My college room mate who lives in Munich only goes to Venice in the winter. He says he likes the quiet freedom from tourists and the fog.

I am thinking of spending a month or so in Italy in the winter. It would be nice to be able to get into places without standing in line in the hot sun for half an hour or more.

RNJ

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 9 2016 22:04:25

Paul Magnussen

Posts: 1805
Joined: Nov. 8 2010
From: London (living in the Bay Area)

RE: Newly-Published Novel by Arturo ... (in reply to Richard Jernigan)

Richard,

Just a quick Thank You for the pointer to Donna Leon’s Commisario Brunetti novels. They’re both intelligent and literate, and the characters seem like real people, instead of just cardboard cut-outs whose sole function is to move the plot forward (as in Agatha Christie, and even Georgette Heyer). Signorina Elettra, in particular, is a marvellous creation.

I’m about halfway through them at the moment, and I can’t put them down.

But About Face isn’t her latest — she’s written another seven since then!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 29 2016 0:47:50

Richard Jernigan

Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA

RE: Newly-Published Novel by Arturo ... (in reply to Paul Magnussen)

Paul-

Glad you enjoyed them.

Yes, Leon creates characters, not just plots. I enjoy Brunetti's rare conversations with his father-in-law, the Count. The Comisario sometimes consults the nobleman when he comes across a particularly large scale and ingenious criminal scheme. It is never clear whether the wealthy and sophisticated Count, from one of the old Venetian families, just happens to know the details of what is going on, or whether he might in some way actually be involved in similar pursuits.

RNJ

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 29 2016 16:31:53