A review by readingthebacklist
Hecho en Saturno by Rita Indiana

reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Hecho en Saturno reminded me of Radicales Libres by Rosa Beltran in that radical leaders/ideology is demystified. As with Rita Indiana’s Tentacle, art is an important aspect of the story. Goya’s Saturn Devouring his Son is referenced often as is the adage made famous by the French Revolution, like Saturn, the revolution devours its children. The former revolutionaries, have shed the ideology now that they stand to benefit from their place in the political hierarchy. 

 

I liked the concept of a recovering heroin addict serving as conduit between the story and the reader, his disillusionment and pliant manner lend a fragmented and dreamy quality to the narrative. Argenis, though often unlikeable and shiftless, also aroused sympathy in me. For me this novel felt more accessible than the author’s previous novel, Tentacle.