Body Snatcher [Hardcover]

Juan Carlos Onetti (Author), Alfred MacAdams (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1991

Junta Larsen, a Promethean pimp, attempts to "achieve two perfections--a perfect woman and a perfect bordello" in the sleepy South American outback town of Santa Maria. "This masterful novel ranks with the fictions of Puig, Cortazar and Marquez. His serpentine lyricism tempered by whiplash irony, Onetti is an elegist of the twentieth century."--Publishers Weekly.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like a South American Faulkner, Uruguayan novelist Onetti uses interior monologues and shifting points of view to evoke the moral devastation of a provincial town. When a bordello opens in Santa Maria, the townsfolk mount a "holy war," yet the whores in this rich, reflective novel command far more sympathy than do the town's "decent" citizens. Jorge, a rebellious adolescent and aspiring poet, breathes contempt for his respectable father, who rents the house of ill repute to Mr. Larsen (aka Body Snatcher), a pimp and bookkeeper. Larsen cloaks his hardened cynicism in romantic dreams and self-delusions. Jorge's lover, Julita, his brother's widow, pretends that Jorge is her dead husband. All the main characters live on lies; their dreams and schemes are a recipe for tragedy. First published in the mid-1960s and now in its first English translation, this masterful novel ranks with the fictions of Puig, Cortazar and Marquez. His serpentine lyricism tempered by whiplash irony, Onetti is an elegist of the 20th century, its neuroses, sexual represession, mafias, anti-Semitism, office time-clocks and terminal lives.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

This powerful work by Uraguayan writer Onetti is a significant contribution to the art of Latin American fiction. Set in the fictional provincial town of Santa Maria, the novel centers around two stories. The first tells of the founding of the "perfect brothel" by Larsen, or Body Snatcher, as he is known. When permission is granted by the city council for the establishment of a legal brothel, the Snatcher is called upon, only to encounter animosity and rejection from the town's people. The other story revolves around Julita, a demented widow who takes the younger brother of her late husband as her lover. This novel illustrates a viewpoint typical in the work of Onetti, as the characters strive to achieve perfection but are prevented by circumstances from doing so. The heterogeneous cast of characters is large and linked only by circumstance and serendipity. This is not merely a good book but represents an important addition to English scholarship in the literature of Latin America. Highly recommended.
- Mary Molinaro, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 305 pages
• Publisher: Quartet Books; 1st Eng edition (1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 070432797X
• ISBN-13: 978-0704327979
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,253,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Body Snatcher, July 16, 2001

By 

Libri Mundi "Libri Mundi" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Body Snatcher (Paperback)

I read this book just after completing Kerouac's "on the road" - but when I finished Body Snatcher I said to myself "To hell with beat culture - this is real literature". I was just stunned by the class of Onetti's writing. He is in the class of Marquez and creates a fantastic canvas like Marquez. The topic of the book is very simple and the whole story is set up in a town where life is drag and prosaic but Onetti brings a strange tone of suspense which will keep you hooked to the book. When in any author tries to look into a topic from several view points and builds up the story in these view points -the story tends to become divergent in nature. Onetti never looses the tight control of the plot. I also admire the translation - I do not how far it is true to its Spanish version but it is definitely good piece of translation. Long time back I read a book called "Body Watching" by Desmond Morris, where he describes human behavior through pictures - Onetti can be described as the literary counter part of Morris. Every essential movement of every character is described without boring the reader. Of coarse you will not find the twist and beauty of the language that you find in authors like Steinbeck, Paul Auster but may be the Spanish version has those qualities - you never know. If you get a chance buy this book. I just pray to God that some body does the same justice with translation to Akutagawa and his writings.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A comment on the translation - not exactly a review, November 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Body Snatcher (Paperback)

Let me issue a caveat on the translation of my countryman Onetti's finest book, which I originally read in Spanish. Rendering the invented word "Juntacadáveres" as "Body Snatcher" doesn't really make sense, since it seems to hint at a grave robber or something like that. "Corpse collector" would be a much better translation, the nickname referring to a man who runs a brothel full of old, ugly, depressing prostitutes. I cannot comment on the rest of the translator's work, since I haven't read it, but if the very title is badly translated, how good can the book itself be?

This said, I highly recommend this book, whose grim, surreal atmosphere will appeal to readers in search of unconventional, well-crafted writing.