Savage Theories

Starred review from October 31, 2016
Acclaimed in Argentina when it was first released, Oloixarac’s brilliant, dextrous debut novel is a twisty tale of academia, lust, and culture. At its core are three narratives, two of which take place in the present: the adventures of young Kamtchowsky and her boyfriend, Pabst, as they sift their way through the Buenos Aires music, drug, pornography, and video game scenes; and the pursuit of the novel’s narrator, known only as Rosa Ostreech, as she tries to draw the attention of her older professor (by seducing another man), also in Buenos Aires. The third story line begins in 1917 and focuses on a Dutch anthropologist—and later his disciples—as he explores a theory that ties human civilization and behavior to the violence seen in our primate ancestors. These ambitious narrative threads overlap, yet characters disappear for long stretches, making their stories unfold in fits and starts, which may frustrate some. However, the author’s ability to incorporate diverse elements, including 1970s Argentinian sex comedies, early 20th-century psychological theory, Elton John, and Thomas Hobbes singing in bed, makes for a singular and humorous experience. Perhaps best of all is Oloixarac’s prose: discursive, surprising, and off-kilter—like the characters themselves, it reveals a ceaseless appetite for understanding and belonging.

Narrator Ana Grosse casts a spell as she mirrors the dreamlike prose of Argentinian Oloixarac's dazzling first novel. Delivering three narratives with slight alterations in tone and emphasis, Grosse portrays the young Kamtchowsky and her boyfriend, Pabst, as they move through today's energetic Buenos Aires, searching for the novel's enigmatic narrator, Rosa Ostreech. In a separate narrative, Grosse sparkles as she creates the world of 1917 and a Dutch anthropologist who finds connections between present-day violence and the evolution of our primate ancestors. Deftly mixing the humorous and the tragic, Grosse portrays historic and contemporary characters with a slight smile in her voice. R.O. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine