The Dead Girls [Paperback]

Jorge Ibarguengoitia (Author), A. Zatz (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Chatto & Windus (February 1983)
• ISBN-10: 0701126876
• ISBN-13: 978-0701126872
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,985,277 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark humor at its best, February 19, 2001

By 

Guillermo Maynez (Mexico, Distrito Federal Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dead Girls (Paperback)

This novel is based on a true story, which happened in Central Mexico in the 60's. It is the famous story of "Las Poquianchis", a couple of sisters from Guanajuato state, who successfully ran a number of brothels, always with the complacency of local authorities (at one scene, the mayor of a town cuts the ribbon of a new one, but then gets drunk and disgraces himself in a hilarious way). A series of unfortunate accidents, as well as stupid actions, bring the sisters' luck down, and then hell breaks loose.

This sordid story serves perfectly for another fictionalized account by the master of subtle, cynical humor, unfortunately little known out of Mexico (unfortunate for the potential readers). This is a small masterpiece of an objective, cold, cynical, sarcastic and great narrative. The characters are perfectly believable and Ibargüengoitia's stand as narrator is completely absent, dettached. Probably the best parts are the first-person accounts of people involved in the murders and their cover-ups. The trivial incidents are at the same time absolutely hilarious, disgusting and relevant to the plot. If you like this one, go further and read other works by this author, like "Two crimes", "Lopez's steps", "The lightnings of August" or "Kill the lion". They're all wonderful and intelligent sense of humor, with a pessimistic and dark twist.

The best thing about his writing is that he is Never trying to be funny. You get the feeling that the stories may be ludicrous, but the author is simply telling them the way they were. If you find them funny, that's your issue. It is that precisely which makes them funnier: in real life, stupid and humorous thing happen, without any need for inventing them. Life, says Ibargüengoitia, is absurd in every detail. Check it out.

5.0 out of 5 stars Based on a true crime..., August 20, 2008

By 

Judy Smith "judylynnsbooks" (jamestown, ky United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dead Girls (Paperback)

The incidents are real in this book but the characters are imaginary. In January of 1963, the bodies of six young prostitutes were found buried in the backyard of a brothel owned and operated by a middle aged woman and her sister. These two women were convicted of murder and sent to prison. This book reconstructs the dark comedy of errors that led these sisters to commit murder and to involve nearly everyone in the small Mexican village in which they lived. Set against a rich backdrop of of zany local characters and folklore, the story of these two women and the human degradation they practiced with impunity for years is also the story of what can happen to people who come into a world riddled with injustice and have no alternative but to survive the best way they can.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A different kind of detective fiction., April 5, 2000

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Dead Girls (Paperback)

This book is the first translation into English of the late Ibarguengoitia's works. It begins from a fact, the police find the bodies of six prostitutes buried in the yard of a brothel. From that fact, the book goes on to build a work of fiction, painting a picture about what might have happened.

The novel is well-written, but the pacing is odd, which makes the book difficult to enter. This could have been an artifact of the translation. I cannot read the original Spanish, but the English felt stilted throughout the book, and was often frustrating to read.

There were enough good things to explain the reputation, and I may well pick up a book by another translator.