7 July 2016

Review #481: The Gods of Tango by Carolina De Robertis


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"The Argentine tango is very special to me because it's full of sensuality. The chemistry between the man and woman is absolutely stunning. "

----Gilles Marini


Carolina De Robertis, an Uruguayan author, pens a heart-touching and extremely poignant historical fiction in her new book, The Gods of Tango that unfolds the story of a young Italian woman who after finding out that her newly wed husband is dead, she decides to play tango music by dressing up as a man among the world of men in Argentina, but that leads her to a lot of unseen troubles where her sexuality and her sexual desires confuse her.


Synopsis:

Arriving in Buenos Aires in 1913, with only a suitcase and her father’s cherished violin to her name, seventeen-year-old Leda is shocked to find that the husband she has travelled across an ocean to reach is dead. Unable to return home, alone, and on the brink of destitution, she finds herself seduced by the tango, the dance that underscores every aspect of life in her new city. Knowing that she can never play in public as a woman, Leda disguises herself as a young man to join a troupe of musicians. In the illicit, scandalous world of brothels and cabarets, the line between Leda and her disguise begins to blur, and forbidden longings that she has long kept suppressed are realized for the first time. Powerfully sensual, The Gods of Tango is an erotically charged story of music, passion, and the quest for an authentic life against the odds.


17-year old Leda has married her cousin, Dante by stand-in, who lives and works in Buenos Aires. After the wedding, Leda travels from her rural hometown in Italy to reach her husband in Argentina, only to find out that he has been shot dead in a workers' protest rally and that she has become a widow. There is no option to return back to her dreadful life back in Italy thus Leda decides to disguise herself as a man with the help of Dante's clothes o play Tango music with her father's violin that he sent with her as a gift for Dante. Thus Leda, a.k.a., Dante embarks on a path that is not traveled by women in Argentina at a time when women wither served the indoor household works or served as a prostitute outdoors. Leda also joins a group of musicians who earn their name and reputation by playing tango music in various cabarets and hotels. But Leda/Dante often confused her inner desires and her self-identity when she was asked to accompany other men to the brothels. Can she survive herself as a he and with a he's desires?

Firstly, I must comment on the book's scintillating cover image which aptly captures the flavor and the portrait of Tango as in dance form strikingly which instantly allured my mind and arrested me to open the book and read it. The story from the very first page, captivated my mind and my soul and kept me engaged till the very end, although, at times, I felt bit bored with the same kind of events occurring more than once or with too much details about tango and its importance rather than depicting the hardships of a woman during the early 20th century in Argentina, in depth.

The author's writing is extremely aesthetic that will immediately grasp the literary fiction aficionados minds, that is laced with proper emotions that too holds the power to move the readers deeply. The narrative is not only inspired from and depicts the local dialect of Argentina but also vividly syncs with the musical notes of tango that will instantly fill the readers' minds with this exotic and foot tapping music. In short, the dialogues are free flowing and extremely riveting enough to keep the readers glued. Now the pacing is very much slow, and it seems the story progresses at a snail's pace with lots of unimportant descriptions and detailings without which the story could also have been easily comprehended by the readers.

The characters from this book are very much well developed and are painted with enough realism, especially the characters are very much layered with their flaws, cultural differences, gender differences and with empathy. The central character, Leda, is a very much honest character whose authentic and determined demeanor takes her to new heights and new places and the readers will experience those through her minds' eyes and her deep thoughts. Leda cannot be an epitome but she can stand out as a diamond in the rough as she camouflages herself as a man in a world where women are treated with zero respect, and her journey through this risky world is not only intimidating but also encouraging enough to make the readers realize her struggles thereby rooting for her till the very end. The supporting characters are also very well etched out and are portrayed them as interesting and true to their soul.

The sex or rather say the physical intimacy plays an integral role in this story just like the tango. Leda in her man self as Dante goes through tons of love affairs with women and the sex scenes between Leda and those women are carefully and smartly depicted with enough passion and heat to give wet dreams to the readers, and not even for once the author made Leda vulnerable in the eyes of those women and that what really amazed me and left me astounded with the intensity and the confidence Leda played along with those women.

The backdrop of this story is vividly portrayed through the canvas where the author brings alive the crowded streets of Buenos Aires alive with the lively chatter in the dark alleys or the stench of sex in the brothels or with the humdrum of daily chores in those shared houses where the immigrants lived or with the sensual or delightful music of tango flowed from those glittering and high class cabarets or with the history of then time or with the strikingly landscapes of a city. in short, the readers are in for a treat as they will be immediately transported to this exotic city through the eloquent and rhyming words of the author.

In a nutshell, this is an intriguing story with a soul-touching story line about a woman surviving with music and love in a man's world.

Verdict: On a long, cold afternoon, this enticing book can easily comfort and charm a reader's mind and soul along with a cup of hot coffee or tea.

Verdict: Thanks to the author, Carolina De Robertis and her publishers, for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author Info:
Carolina De Robertis is the author of Perla and The Invisible Mountain, which was an international bestseller translated into fifteen languages, the recipient of Italy’s Rhegium Julii Prize, and a Best Book of 2009 according to the San Francisco Chronicle, O, The Oprah Magazine, and BookList. She is the translator of Alejandro Zambra’s Bonsai, which was just made into a feature film, and Roberto Ampuero’s internationally bestselling The Neruda Case. De Robertis has been awarded a 2012 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
De Robertis grew up in a Uruguayan family that immigrated to England, Switzerland, and California. Prior to completing her first book, she worked in women’s rights organizations for ten years, on issues ranging from rape to immigration. She lives in Oakland, California, where she is currently elbow-deep in writing her third novel, which explores migration, sexual frontiers, and the tango’s Old Guard in early twentieth century South America.
Visit her here


Book Purchase Links:

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for your feedback!