This is the first (1926) novel published by the neglected
Argentinian postmodernist writer (1900-42) whose phantasmagoric The
Seven Madmen (English translation, 1999) rivals the masterpieces of
Cortazar, Garcia Marquez, and Onetti. It's the story of Silvio
Astier (told by himself in old age), a street thug inspired by "the
thrilling literature of outlaws and bandits," and educated in crime
by his Fagin-like mentor Rengo (a charmer of a villain if there
ever was one). Mad Toy bears interesting resemblances as well to
both Don Quixote and Luis Bunuel's classic naturalist film Los
Olvidados. In addition to the novel's own considerable interest,
Aynesworth's illuminating remarks about Arlt's vigorous "polyglot
style" shed further light on a richly entertaining and
unquestionably important work. (Kirkus Reviews)
Roberto Arlt, celebrated in Argentina for his tragicomic,
punch-in-the-jaw writing during the 1920s and 1930s, was a
forerunner of Latin American "boom" and "postboom" novelists such
as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende. "Mad Toy," acclaimed
by many as Arlt's best novel, is set against the chaotic background
of Buenos Aires in the early twentieth century. Set in the badlands
of adolescence, where acts of theft and betrayal become metaphors
for creativity, "Mad Toy" is equal parts pulp fiction, realism,
detective story, expressionist drama, and creative memoir.
An immigrant son of a German father and an Italian mother, Arlt as
a youth was a school dropout, poor and often hungry. In "Mad Toy, "
he incorporates his personal experience into the lives of his
characters. Published in 1926 as "El juguete rabioso," the novel
follows the adventures of Silvio Astier, a poverty-stricken and
frustrated youth who is drawn to gangs and a life of petty crime.
As Silvio struggles to bridge the gap between exuberant imagination
and the sordid reality around him, he becomes fascinated with
weapons, explosives, vandalism, and thievery, despite a desperate
desire to rise above his origins. Flavored with a dash of romance,
a hint of allegory, and a healthy dose of irony, the novel's
language varies from the cultured idiom of the narrator to the
dialects and street slang of the novel's many colorful
characters.
"Mad Toy "has appeared in numerous Spanish editions and has been
adapted for the stage and for film. It is the second of Arlt's
novels to be translated into English.
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