Bad Times in Buenos Aires [Paperback]

Miranda France (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 1999

In 1993 Miranda France moved to South America, drawn to Buenos Aires as the intellectual hub of the continent, with its wealth of writers and its romantic, passionate and tragic history. She found that is was all these things, but it was also a terrible place to live. The inhabitants of Buenos Aires are famously unhappy. All over South America they are known for their arrogance, their fixation of Europe and their moodiness. Very soon, Miranda France encounters' bronca' - the simmering and barely controllable rage that is a staple feature of life in the Argentinian capital. She finds that 'bronca' has deep roots: the violence and racism of the first European settlers; the dictatorships, especially in the 1970s when so many 'disappeared'; even Evita Peron, for there was no rage to rival Evita's.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

France, who moved to Buenos Aires in 1993 as a freelance journalist, entwines personal recollections with research and thoughtful descriptions to provide a fascinating glimpse into the Buenos Aires she experienced. For instance, we are introduced to Sylvia, who required English vocabulary to express her three main interests: food, love, and headaches. France also spent time floating with the Aymara Indians on their man-made island homes. Her narrative is fascinating, describing tragic historic events, the myths surrounding Evita Pern, obsessions with psychoanalysis, and Frances own inner debates as she explores a different culture. The article that was the foundation for this book won the Shiva Naipaul Memorial Prize for travel writing. A wonderfully insightful journey into a city and its people; recommended for public libraries.Alison Hopkins, Queens Borough P.L., Briarwood, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Ah, the tango! And juicy beefsteaks as thick as your arm. And gorgeous people sitting in cafes minding other peoples' beauty while cultivating their own. What an exotic image Buenos Aires conjures in travelers' minds--until they actually visit the place, according to British journalist France, who spent time living in the Argentine capital in the early 1990s and came away with a pretty good impression. She remembers the building where she lived as "permeated with an air of disappointment," and it seems the atmosphere of the whole city has that smell. The memory of Eva Peron meets the visitor at every turn; there is no escaping the Argentinians' obsession with psychoanalysis; and the dictatorship of the 1970s left sores in society that still fester and bleed. The infrastructure is falling apart, and the elegant buildings that in decades past earned Buenos Aires the sobriquet "Paris of South America" are crumbling. Read France's book, but if you still find the idea of Buenos Aires intriguing, by all means go and find out for yourself! Brad Hooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Phoenix Paperbacks (January 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753805510
• ISBN-13: 978-0753805510
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #314,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #51 in Books > Travel > Latin America > South America > Argentina

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Book for a Fantastic City, November 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Bad Times In Buenos Aires (Hardcover)

I had the privilege of living in Buenos Aires from my late childhood through mid-teens. I adore Buenos Aires and consider it and New York to be my hometowns.

In many ways, I'd say that this book could've been written about New York - both are huge, vibrant, overwhelming, dirty, sparkling, and absolutely magnificent places, founded by fortune-seeking immigrants and constantly seeming to be on the verge of crisis. And like New Yorkers, Portenos take great pride in the fact that they live in such a place - our big is the biggest, or bad is the worst, and our good is the absolute best. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

I like that Ms. France didn't gloss over or marginalise the ever-present image of Eva Peron - unlike so many writers, who seek to minimize her continuing influence, or relegate it to the old, Ms. France shows that even in this day, Evita has a hold on the nation she did so much to help. I'm proud to say that my family - both my mother's (Jewish) and my father's (Italian) were and remain committed Peronistas, and even during the darkest years of La Guerra Sucia, they kept their pictures and books by Evita - and both sides still use the prayerbooks put out (both Catholic and Jewish) after her untimely passing, which feature prayers for her. I still have mine, and continue that tradition here in the States.

My main beef with the book was that it wasn't longer. Write more of the vibrant streetlife and cafe society! Mention the food, the joys and terrors of taking the underground, the Spanish so liberally peppered with Italian and Yiddish! Reading this brought on a bittersweet sense of homesickness, and mandates a trip home soon (I literally got a lump in my throat when Ms. France described the Peronista rally where they chanted "Se Siente - Se Siente - Evita Esta Presente!" - the same chant we would exultantly howl during our Peronista Youth Front meetings before the catastrophe...

Ms. France got one thing wrong - Buenos Aires Te Mata is NOT a lament, it's a boast, a challenge to the world. Most Portenos say it with perverse pride, and would consider it a badge of honour. After all, it's a rare privilege to be able to say it!

Even bad times in Buenos Aires beat good times almost everywhere else!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, May 2, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bad Times In Buenos Aires (Hardcover)

Miranda France's book is wonderful. It looks like many of the reviewers here on Amazon think that France should have sugarcoated her experiences with unctuous and patronizing enthusiasm. Through her fine writing, France seems rigorously honest. If you want shallow pleasantries talk to a diplomat or buy a postcard. If you want to know what BA is really like, read this book.

Obviously, I'm not the only one who is occasionally frustrated with Latin culture. The have-nots truly have not and barely exist. The haves are usually deeply narcissistic and preoccupied with appearance, class and race (France wrote about one woman who boasted she was 100% European and pretty much grateful that most of the native peoples of Argentina had been exterminated).

France has great talent! I think she was just in her 20's when she wrote this book. If I were she, however, I would have given the book a different title. For those of you who have been offended by this book, maybe you need to look a bit deeper.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A City: The Best of Times and the Worst....., June 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bad Times In Buenos Aires (Hardcover)

Having lived in Buenos Aires for two years and loving my stay in Argentina, this book was a difficult one to read. It does not capture the romantic image of Buenos Aires that I like to remember.

Still, it is a very healthy counterpoint that one needs to be aware of if they are going to live in Buenos Aires as something other than a tourist. The chapter on psychoanalysis reflects a special insight on the people who live there. Alas, her observations were something I heard from many Argentines. To this day it is something that I will never understand.

Yes, it is true that a book like this can be written on any city. In fact, I think Los Angeles, New York and other U.S. cities already have their fair share! It is not especially racist, to use one reviewers words, to spread the wealth of seeing the less desirable features of any culture.

After saying all that, I like the country and think that France was a little too negative. Buenos Aires is not a city that tourists will get to know. It is a city where one survives on relationships. As with any place in the world, if you associate with those of a cheerful and positive outlook, your own views will be optimistic. The reverse is also true.