A Plan for Escape (Palabra Sur Book) [Paperback]

Adolfo Bioy Casares (Author)

Book Description

Series: Palabra Sur Book | Publication Date: July 1988

a novel, Argentina, tr Suzanne Jill Levine

Editorial Reviews

Review

A Plan for Escape is a weird, engrossing novel, bound to captivate--if not totally satisfy--most readers. The story revolves around Henri Nevers, a Frenchman sent by his father to a post at a penal colony in French Guiana. Arriving at Cayenne, the seat of government, Nevers learns that the governor, Castel, has deserted Cayerme to "be alone with the prisoners" on the islands. When Nevers ferries to the islands, Castel meets him with delight as "an educated collaborator." Nevers intuits that "Castel's interest in social and prison matters is strictly sadistic," and he tries to remain uninvolved. Confronted by inmates' allusive remarks and his own observations, however, he is compelled to follow the clues that lead him to unearth the horrible results of Castel's reign. Despite the novel's horrors, its tone is eerily distanced by its point of view: The tale is narrated by Nevers' uncle who has pieced it together from his nephew's letters. This perspective allows for holes in the story which readers who demand closure may not accept. (What-they might ask-is Nevers' motivation for making his last, dangerous trip?) Other readers will enjoy puzzling over the small mysteries left after the main mystery is solved. Me relationship between prisoners and keepers is a dominant theme. As one character states, "Conscience and prisons are incompatible." This theme proceeds from Argentinian writer Bioy-Casares' reaction to accounts of Nazism in 1945, and it also-as others have noted--predicts the systematic tortures that would take place in his country in the 1970s. Translator Suzanne Jill Levine has done faithful and loyal service to make the novel available in English, as has Graywolf Press as part of its Palabra Sur series. Several pesky errors mar the edition (for one, "May name if Bordenave" for "My name is Bordenave"). Otherwise, this is a fine addition to the body of Latin American works in paperback. -- From Independent Publisher

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Graywolf Pr (July 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555971075
• ISBN-13: 978-1555971076
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #983,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true master - stupendous etc. etc., June 25, 2000

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Plan for Escape (Palabra Sur Book) (Paperback)

A Plan for Escape was the first book by Adolfo Bioy-Casares that I read. It was quickly followed by everything I could find by him. Bioy-Casares collaborated with the better known Jorge Luis Borges - and the inventive prose shows that there is an affinity of genius.

This particular tale is a study on prisons - guards and prisoners - and the horrors that grow out of the relationship between the enprisoning and the enprisoned. If you want a straight line plot with everything neatly bundled at the end, this book is not for you. If you are willing to risk contemplating humanities' capacity for evil, you will be enthralled by this master.