Marco Antonio Flores

Just this morning I finished Comrades by Marco Antonio Flores. Truly this is an important book for several reasons, not least of which is mentioned in this review (the only I can find): http://www.latamrob.com/?p=746 . Flores pissed off the right and the left with this book and, as has happened all too often in the history of Latin American literature, he fled for his life as a result.

The book’s triumph is not smothered entirely by the complaints I mentioned in an earlier post. The British slang does tend to compromise the text for my Yankee eyes, but, as I went along, the book started to smooth out a bit in terms of language, though this was probably just me getting used the disjointed lingo. Slang from Guatemala rendered as British vernacular is a problem, yes, but the power of the writing took over, more or less. I would love to see a more universal translation of this book, though I do admit that Nickless did a fine job, regional issues not withstanding.

Considering the book got no press (as far as I can tell) in the States, and is published by a small British press, odds are Flores won’t become the household name that he ought to up here in Gringolandia. Oh well, consider this my (small) part to alter that tragedy.