A review by versmonesprit
The Tunnel by Ernesto Sabato

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Written like a murderer’s confession, The Tunnel offers perhaps the best decoding of the obsessive, pathological mind: from the emotional and physical abuse to the gaslighting and from the emotional blackmail to the lovebombing, Sábato traces the dangers of getting caught in the web of what could be described as an incel in today’s terms. The book is extremely distressing, and so often you find your heart racing as it breaks for the woman who we know, from the first sentence of the book, has been murdered.

But The Tunnel, despite being set in such a despicable mind, is extremely beautiful as Sábato ruminates on human nature through the most engrossing writing. Everything about the craft of the book is, in one word, flawless. It’s almost impossible to accept that this was his first novel!

I could go on until this review took up pages upon pages, but I’ll resort to simply insisting you all read this masterpiece.