Heartbreak Tango

Now here’s a Latin American novel that I would heartily recommend. Despite the fact that it deals with their endless fascination with what they term as ‘love’ (cf. Love in the Time of Cholera), it is written in the most individual style that I’ve yet come across from this area of the world.

Typically, works off the 1001 Books list from the continent of South America are either saccharine sop-fests of the likes of Allende (see here and here), metaphysical romps beyond the bounds of mortal comprehension (see Borges here and Paz here) or a combination of the two (see Garcia Marquez here).

It’s therefore extremely refreshing to see an author use some experimentation and actually play with the novel. Whatever else Puig must have show more experienced while writing this, he surely must have had moments of great delight. The vast array of viewpoints, styles, genres and approaches to chronology must have been great fun to put together.

The result is a novel about unrequited love (“What else?” I hear the Latino crowd say!) which intrigues the reader from the get go. Until the very end, you’re never actually sure how events have really unfolded, and it’s tantalising enough to tempt you to immediately start reading again.

I read the novel aloud to Mrs Arukiyomi (we always have one book like this on the go). However, because of the wide array of literary styles, this is not the ideal way to access the novel. Don’t do audio, read this off the page and be ready for a tale of young love and shattered ideals. show less

Heartbreak Tango recounts the life and loves of Juan Carlos, a small-town Argentinian bureaucrat, as he slowly dies of tuberculosis. Good-looking, well-mannered Juan Carlos is the apple of his mother's eye and a prize jealously guarded by his sister Celina. He alternately pursues Nene, a local shop girl tainted by scandal, and Mabel, a teacher from a wealthy local family. His romantic pursuits, along with late-night visits to local widow and evenings out with his carousing card-playing friends, ultimately drive him to exhaustion.

On the surface, this story is a typical tale of romantic entanglement. Puig, best known for [The Kiss of the Spider Woman], reframes the story as a series of excerpts from letters, diaries and newspaper show more clippings and plays with the chronology. The story begins with Nene's letters to Juan Carlos' mother following his death and travels backward and forward in time, alternately bringing the characters closer together and driving them further apart. All of the women idealize Juan Carlos and pity his tragic demise, all the while failing to see the ongoing tragedies that have left them heartbroken and alone. Billed as a novel in a series of installments, reminiscent of a 1940s serial romance, the novel has flashes of wit and at times draws the reader into the puzzle of piecing together Juan Carlos' love life. An enjoyable read in a somewhat experimental form, but not groundbreaking in any way. show less

I liked this strange book. Letters, memories, conversations, rantings, this book has it all. A book based in South-America, in Argentina. I do not usually read (or particularly like) southern books or authors. The rythm of writing or the book often doesn't appeal to me. This book was different, probably because of the writing style.

Lo leo de vuelta y me encanta de vuelta. Puig te amo

A novel about life in a small town on the Argentine pampas during the 1930s, filled with intrigue, prejudice, sexual treachery and betrayal. This was translated into English as "Heartbreak Tango."

Interesante historia de vidas entrelazadas de personas distantes.

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