Dominican Republic / All works
Novel
Over
Not translated into English
Ramón Marrero Aristy · 1939
Synopsis
In the thirties, Daniel Comprés, a young man without means, takes a job as a clerk at the bodega of a sugar mill run by a foreign company, the shop where the cane cutters, Haitians and cocolos, buy on credit against vouchers. There he learns the over, the cheating on the weight of goods that takes the company's share from every purchase, and sees, like his comrade Eduardo, a misery against which no one dares to protest.
Context
The novel was published in 1939 according to Acento, in 1938 according to El Día, a year after a first book of stories. Its author transposes there what he had seen at the bodega of the Central Romana. Written in the first person, in a language close to conversation, it quickly became well known; Andrés L. Mateo reads in it a hesitation between the raw document and metaphor, which reflects the contradictions of a writer soon to rally to those in power.
Who it is for
In Spanish; a direct social novel, told by its hero, about life in the bateyes and the rigged trade of the sugar mills.
Prizes and reception
Quickly famous on its publication according to Acento; reissued with Balsié, preceded by a critical study.