Dreaming of the Delta

Suez (Red Smoke) sets her latest book in Argentina during the turbulent National Reorganization Process (1976–1983), but confines the story to the private lives of servants in a mansion, only hinting at the tensions outside. Tránsito, the servant; Lucía, the cook; and Ortíz, the chauffeur have traveled from the islands of the delta to work for an admiral and his wife. When they arrive, Tránsito and Lucía, sisters, are ages 17 and 12, respectively. Decades later, when Tránsito is 67, she murders the admiral and his wife. As the story unfolds, we learn her history and secret motives. The characters are simple people living in difficult circumstances. Ortíz is proud of serving an admiral, and Lucía believes in knowing one’s place; the two can’t recognize their economic subjugation for what it really is. Tránsito, though more rebellious, is not always more perspicacious, romanticizing her troubled birthplace as a beautiful haven in her memory. Frequent shifts in perspective, well-paced narrative disclosure, and experimental formatting, in which much of the page is left blank, ensure that every word demands careful attention. (Dec.)