Novel
The Seven Madmen
Los siete locos
Roberto Arlt · 1929
Opening lines
Al abrir la puerta de la gerencia, encristalada de vidrios japoneses, Erdosain quiso retroceder; comprendió que estaba perdido, pero ya era tarde.
On opening the door of the manager's office, glazed with Japanese glass, Erdosain wanted to step back; he understood that he was lost, but it was already too late.
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from es.wikisource.org
Synopsis
Remo Erdosain, denounced for stealing money from the sugar refinery that employs him, has to repay a sum he has already spent, according to Anika entre libros. Barsut, his wife's cousin, refuses to help him; the Astrologer cannot either, but lays out his plans to him; a pimp, the Rufián Melancólico, gives him the money. Erdosain then discovers a secret society that wants to change the social order through violent revolution, financed by brothels. At home, his wife tells him she is leaving him for a soldier.
Context
The novel appeared in 1929, in October from the publisher Latina (from Claridad according to escritores.org); a sequel, Los lanzallamas, appeared in 1931. Many critics note in it the influence of a great Russian novelist, to the point of giving his name to the author. The cultivated elite of his time despised him and accused him of writing carelessly; critics paid him tribute only after his death, according to escritores.org.
Who it is for
A novel in Spanish, the first part of a diptych; translated into French by Belfond in 1985.
Prizes and reception
A novel marked by existentialist themes and by social criticism of Argentina in the twenties.
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