cover image El Otro Gomez

El Otro Gomez

Diego Paszkowski. Sudamericana, $19.95 (175pp) ISBN 978-950-07-1993-3

An Argentine writer and journalist, Paskowski has been acclaimed for starting Narrativa Joven (Young Narrative), an imprint of the Argentine Libros del Roja-UBA dedicated to novels and short stories by young authors. This is a complicated, well-written novel that can be read at many levels, as it deals with issues of national identity and the relationship between the culture of drug trafficking and machismo. Bank accountant William Puente leads an incredibly tedious middle-class existence in Buenos Aires until he is kidnapped by drug traffickers (aka ""narcos"") and forced to assume the identity of G""mez, the narcos' chief money-launderer. Before long, Puente realizes that he would rather be G""mez. His old values and family connections cannot compete with the excitement, danger, romance, and power that he enjoys in his new life. Besides exploring the relation between our surface identity our name, our face and our true inner nature, Paskowski describes the involvement of entire segments of the Bolivian upper class in the illegal drug trade. Though he is fairly indifferent to the moral question of drug trafficking, Paskowski does dispute the prevalent view of the relationship between Bolivia and Argentina, often described as similar to that between Mexico and the United States. Here, the product and impetus for this illegal industry comes from Bolivia, while Argentina functions as a money-laundering junior partner. Recommended for both academic and public libraries. Sonia Merubia, Benson Latin American Coll., Univ. of Texas, Austin