Crocodile tears by Mercedes Rosende

 

Name of Book: Crocodile Tears 

Author: Mercedes Rosende 

ISBN: 978-1-913394-43-1

Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press

Type of book: Uruguay, crime, trauma, corruption, destruction, modern times, heist, goals, things going wrong

Year it was published: 2021

Summary:

The setting: Montevideo’s Old Town, with its dark alleys, crumbling facades and watchful residents. The gig: an armoured truck robbery. The cast: Diego, a failed kidnapper with weak nerves, Ursula Lopez, an amateur criminal with an insatiable appetite, the Hobo, a notorious hoodlum with excessive self-confidence. Dr Antinucci, a shady lawyer with big plans. And finally, Leonilda Lima, a washed-out police inspector with a glimmer of faith in justice.

Characters:

Definitely the characters were mine favorite. First was the lawyer, Antinucci who sees a sin to utter Gods name in vain, but doesn't see himself as a bad person despite his overly checkered past And present. Ursula Lopez has been dealing with trauma, namely weight and low self esteem as well as the punishments that her father bestowed upon her. Diego is a simple man, the one that tends to have more bad luck than good. Then there is the Hobo who is vicious and plans a revenge on some women who dared to put him in prison. And there is also Leonilda, a dedicated and passionate woman to the police force, but at the same time e she is superstitious. 

Theme:

There is no such thing as a perfect crime 

Plot:

The story is written in third person narrative from many character's points of view, mainly the participants. I did feel that the lead up to the heist took a bit too long, but other than that, definitely a genius tale of humor, have nots and trauma. Part of me does hope that certain characters will find their happy endings.  

Author Information:
(From the book)

Mercedes Rosender was born in 1958 in Montevideo, Urugua. She is a lawyer and a journalist when not writing fiction. SHe has won many prizes for her novels and short stories. In 2005 she won the Premio Munincipal de Narrativa for Demasiados blues, in 2008 the National Literature Prize for La muerte tendra tus ojos and in 2019 the LiBeraturpreis in Germany for Crocodile Teares. She lives in Montevideo. 

Opinion:

Crocodile tears definitely belongs in a category of its own. I hadn't read any heist novels, although I did read multiple books that take place in Central and South America. For a fascinating character study, how Mercedes Rosende uses daily life and actions to paint all too memorable characters, I would highly recommend reading this enthralling novel. Also there is comedy in the book and it's very sardonic and dry sense of humor.  

This was given for a review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)