Maur,

I haven't been getting email alerts and, therefore, haven't checked CJM in a while (Maur, you like the use of the comma there?). I see that we are on a new book now. I finished Heller over a month ago, but have lazily not posted my comments. Will do this week and will see if I can find this book in Bangkok.

Couldn't find this book anywhere in the library, just ordered it on Kindle and I'm starting it tonight. Welcome Craig, to our illustrious book club.

I'm having a really tough time getting this book into Switzerland. I tried some international shippers but they seem to always tell me after a few days have gone by that they do not seem to have the book in stock, followed by an option to wait another 3-4 weeks or get a refund. This happened to me 3x, and I'm now forced to look at having the book shipped to my gf's parents' house in Germany, since a lot of suppliers from the EU don't deliver to Switzerland for some damn reason... I will keep trying...

just get a Kindle already. In very little time you will have saved $, time, and stress. And you can get a snazzy case for it with a built in light. I'm not a Kindle spokesman, but one-click online book shopping is very exciting to me.

I've started reading the book, but I know that some people are having trouble acquiring it. Any thoughts on when we should be finished by, and what is the status of everyone? I'm about a quarter of the way through.

The new Kindle touch, which looks way better than the kindle keyboard, doesn't come out until Nov 21. So when should we be finished by. The book is almost impossible to obtain by conventional means. And if I'm going to take the plunge into the world of eBooks, I want the latest, greatest, smallest device.

I have a hard time letting go of the "physical format". There is just something I always liked about slowly building up my own library, and having a book or two laying on coffee table that I can simply pick up and read a bit when getting bored of what's on TV or waiting for my f'n slow computer to start up. I had a kindle from a friend for over a month, and I realize that just as with CD's, there is no way that book sales will continue at the levels they have in the past (especially since you can easily download the files for free from various illegal sites). However, just as with physical music formats, I think a lot was gained by switching to a digital/electronic format, but at the cost of something. Without digressing too far, I have to say that since I stopped buying CD's as a "package" from the artists, I don't really feel the kind of connection I once felt with an "album".

I will probably cave and buy a f'n kindle sooner or later, but I openly admit, I have a hard time doing it because of the fact that I like having books...

I'm still a sucker for having hard copies of books, but for situations like this and the fact that I'm overseas and getting the books I want is sometimes difficult, I'm going to invest in a Kindle. Now, I might be getting one for my birthday (not till November), and I think it's nearly impossible to get this book. So, hopefully you guys don't finish this book before I get a Kindle, or I will have to leave a terrible scar on my flawless book club record and skip this one.

Just finished the book tonight. It is a good read, if only for the historical perspective it offers. I did know about the Argentinian dictartorship in the 70s but not in any detail. I think the importance of this kind of book for Argentina and its people cannot be overstated. Remembering what happened and making sure it comes to 'light' is paramount.

Now, one thing that got on my nerves is the over-description of emotions by a lot of characters. I usually prefer when the emotions and feelings are implied, not underlined and emphasized. I feel the job of the writer is to transmit the emotions indirectly, make us feel it in the prose rather than describing them to us in oh so many words.

Gotta to go to bed, will come back with more shortly.

Just wanted to say "hi" to everyone and thanks to Leo for inviting me to join your prestigious club. I have started this latest book and will post my comments soon, unless there is some kind of other system in place?

J.

welcome to our ever expanding book club. The process is basically comment as you read or after you read. Not much more structure than that.

Maur, we need to update the list of books and members.

T-poo.... you can also comment BEFORE you have the book... like me just now...

You're all a bunch of nerds, lulz

This article seems on point for the book we are reading

just wondering where people are at. I know that T-Poo finished the book, how about everybody else? I had a long lay-off but I'm back on and should be finished in the next few days. This has taken a while due to problems of procurement etc.

As someone who knows a fair bit about what happened in Argentina in the 1970s and 80s, this was a very interesting read. The characters are obviously well thought out. I was most interested by the dichotomy between Eduardo and Mariana. Eduardo is the hapless ignoramus who has no idea what is going on until it is put right before his eyes. Whereas Mariana is the ignoramus who ends up being a massive apologist for the regime. Both kinds of people were prevalent in Argentina, the latter still to this day unfortunately.

I'm finished the book now. Overall I thought it was good, although some parts I found a little confusing as to the narrative and where the author was heading. This may have been deliberate on her part, but sometimes it took me a while to situate myself. Otherwise, as someone who has read about Argentina in this period, I was very captivated by the book. I've read many historical books on the subject but never a piece like this, with raw emotion. It was a big change from what I was used to. It also infuriated me at times to see how some people (Mariana, and to a greater extent her parents) played a role in sustaining the regime. I suppose this was the intent of the author.

I have a few other comments but I'll wait to hear back from the rest of you guys. Good pick Dew, I'm enjoying this theme of yours.

members, if you have finished this book, you should post a comment. Let's figure out who is next to choose a book so we can get cracking. We seem to have hit a gargantuan snag here.

Sorry guys,

I have been MIA, with no real excuse. I never got the book: not available on Asiabooks, and Amazon it was hard to find/ship. So, hopefully the next pick will be something that I can order more easily. I am disgusted that I will have this blemish on my flawless book club record.

On another note, I am currently reading Atlas Shrugged: I got about 400 pages left (it's a brute). Very engaging and intellectually challenging book. Juraj, I think you said you've read it.

This book was a pretty easy, quick read (only took what, 6 months!?). It read as a tragic thriller with the Argentine dictatorship as an all-too-real backdrop, which makes it easy for people to pick up, read, and remember what happened.

I can relate to Leo about some parts being confusing. For me, I was confused at the beginning when Osorio kept jumping back and forth between the past and present and switching first-person perspectives. Once it got drilled into my head what she was doing with her italics and that she was going to do it the entire book, I found it a fun way to tell the story.

The last sentence in the epilogue speaks volumes for the struggle to find one's identity: "'This is the first time we've found a grandmother.'" It shows how important Las Abulas thought knowing one's personal history was. It's something that most people take for granted. Personally, I don't know much about my grandparents on my father's side, but I could find out if I wanted to with little effort. People who were stolen at birth from their families have a much harder time of it.

I didn't find this to be true at all, and I don't mind explicit emotions and feelings in books: take the emotions and feelings out of this book, and you're left with something pretty bland, akin to a history book.

who is picking the next book and what is it? we have a new member in T-Poo and I don't know where he would go in the order. Let's get the list updated and get a new book chosen and try to make up for this shameful outing.

JurPov has the next pick. Haven't heard from him in awhile. The choice order is now up-to-date. Shameful!

one of the parts of the book I thought to be most compelling was how the author portrayed the ignorance of many people who did not know what was going on. These dictatorial regimes rely on such ignorance and the kind of reaction that, "they must have done something wrong". Our main character (whose name escapes me because I finished the book 14 years ago) undergoes something of a transformation in which she finally realizes that the government is simply a brutal and murderous regime.

I found this aspect of the book most interesting because you are intended, I think, to sympathize with the main character. Yet I have always held a healthy amount of contempt for people who do not inform themselves, and always presume that the government means well.

Josh, if you're going to post a comment, you better do it soon....we're moving on to another book