The Islands

February 10, 2014
Set in Buenos Aires, Gamerro's (An Open Secret) sweeping new novel opens a decade after the 1982 war of the Falkland Islands, when the Argentine Felipe Félix is summoned by the eccentric Sr. Tamerlan to find 25 crime witnesses. Though on the surface this sounds like the plot of a noir story, Gamerro's book is closer to a mosaic of post-war life in 1992 Argentina. The novel alternatesâsomewhat uneasilyâbetween realistic wartime atrocities and surreal moments of the fantastic. As Felix uncovers various personal stories on his quest, he confronts many elements from Argentine history, including kidnappings and torture centers (e.g., Garage Olimpo) from the "Dirty War," and hospitalized Falkland victims. Laced with pitch-black humor and sex, the book also features wondrous imagery in Sr. Tamerlan's mirrored office towers. However, the parts are greater than the whole. This kaleidoscopic view of the nation and its citizens grappling with war and survival is simultaneously too dense and choppy. Several individual chapters work better on their own, rather than part of the grand, overarching narrative. When focusing on details such as Felipe's wartime experiencesâspecifically his head injury in the Falklands , or his survivor's guiltâthe novel is incredibly poignant and resonant.