Customer Reviews

TROPICAL NIGHT FALLING --1992 publication

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Puig's _Tropical Night Falling_ offers an interesting psychological study of two elderly women living in Rio de Janeiro. What is most perceptive about the novel is the movement the characters demonstrate from profound naivete to a sad, but necessary cynicism of the world around them. As the characters meet and become involved with neighbors and other people near their apartment complex, they begin to understand the complex, bizarre, and often self-destructive relationships that human beings tend to have. Puig makes astute psychological observations and scores points by creating main characters who are in their eighties, certainly an under-represented group in contemporary fiction. The most difficult aspect of reading the novel is that it is presented solely through dialogue, letters, and newspaper articles. At some point, one begins to wonder if the novel would not have worked better as drama. However, _Tropical Night Falling_ is still a good read for anyone who has an interest in contemporary fiction with an emphasis on the psychological.