196 Books: Costa Rica

Cadence of the Moon by Oscar Nunez Olivas

Here's Costa Rica, in Central America:

And the book summary:

A series of murders committed with dreadful sadism by a psychopathic killer shakes Costa Rica like one of the earth tremors that periodically bedevil Central America. The police and press compete to uncover the murderer's grisly trail - leading to a passionate encounter between a detective and an astonishing female reporter whose charms are her most powerful investigative tool. In a groundbreaking work of fiction that explores the sharp dilemmas faced by both policemen and journalists alike, Costa Rican writer Oscar Nunez Olivas explores just how close - and how far - from the truth reporters and detectives on the trail of a lunatic can be.Published by Aflame Books, "Cadence of the Moon" is a tale of intrigue and human frailty based on the real story of Costa Rica's first ever case of a serial killer. Nunez Olivas draws upon the details of a notorious unsolved crime that horrified this small country to weave a plot that examines the dilemmas faced by journalists driven by a professional ethic yet living by the rules of the real world. Translated by Joanna Griffin from the Spanish-language original ("En clave de luna"), "Cadence of the Moon" explores how the police and press investigations reinforced and contradicted each other and the political and financial pressures that compromised both. Nunez Olivas says: "Objectivity in journalism is a vacuous concept. There does not nor has there ever existed objectivity in the act of scrutinising, interpreting and transmitting human experience.

Ok. Let me start out by saying, the "charms" of the investigative reporter are, of course, her looks. Because apparently there is not a single male author who can write a damn book without objectifying the female characters. Get. It. Together. While each of the female characters had a thorough description of her body, the only description of a male I can remember was an "athletic build" and "cold eyes." WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. COME ON. 

In the first like 4 pages the reporter's lips or mouth are described as "luscious." Seriously? That's just kind of a gross description. And just after that we start off with some workplace sexual harassment. Classic. Basically her boss tells her he'll give her the big story for a kiss. When she threatens to sue for harassment, he gives a "confused laugh" and basically tells her she has no sense of humor. Because that's very funny. UGH. Going back to these parts and writing about it is making me livid again. 

Alright, if you can manage to get past the objectification of all the women, the story is really interesting. And it seems he wasn't too far off the real story; I of course had to look a little into the actual Psychopath.

But here's another part that's infuriating, this time true life: rich, famous, powerful people being untouchable. There was question in real life if the murderer was part of a powerful family, and Olivas took the story in that direction. Towards the end of the book, one of the policemen comments, "There's heavy pressure from powerful people who want to find whoever is responsible, at least during the elections." Sad but true. Politicians are so far removed from the general public and really don't care about justice or what's best for the common people. It's all about staying in power. 

Man, this is bleak. I was gripped by the actual story but now I'm just angry. How many times do I have to say it...do better, world!

196 Books: Republic of the Congo

Johnny Mad Dog by Emmanuel Dongala 

Yes, there are actually two Congos. As expected, Republic of the Congo is right next to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

The book:

Set amid the chaos of West Africa's civil wars, Emmanuel Dongala's striking new novel tells the story of two teenagers growing up while rival ethnic groups fight for control of their country.

At age sixteen, Johnny is a member of the Death Dealers, a rebel faction bent on seizing power. Even as he is drawn into the rebels' program of terror, Johnny Mad Dog, as he calls himself, retains his youthful exuberance-searching for girls, good times, and adventure. Sixteen-year-old Laokolé, for her part, dreams of finishing high school and becoming an engineer, but as rogue militias prepare to sack the city, she is forced to leave home with her mother and brother-and then finds herself alone and running from the likes of Johnny.

Acclaimed in France, Johnny Mad Dog is a coming-of-age story like no other; Dongala's masterful use of dual narrators makes the novel an unusually vivid and affecting tale of the struggle to survive-and to retain one's humanity-in terrifying times.

First off, I loooved the dual narrative. I know it was fictional, but it felt real and terrifying. There were times where the stories overlapped, or Johnny's section would begin witht he same sentence Laokolé's ended on. One thing that kept taking me out of the book, and this happens in movies too, but the rebels had a seemingly endless supply of ammo. I read one part and just stopped and said "where the hell are they getting all these freaking bullets?!"  They were shooting into the air and mowing down crowds and emptying whole clips into one person. It annoys me when the do that. With that nit-picky complaint, on to the rest of my thoughts. 

There are a couple of books I've read about coups, and they're just so strange to me. One group is just like, "Alright, we're done with this. We're taking over and ravaging everything, and now I'm a general or colonel or what have you, and we're in charge. And you of course love us, because we liberated you." Maybe that's me simply being ignorant and privileged. Then the "liberators" do the exact same thing as the previous administration. But there's a really poignant quote from the book: "...we were the grass on which two elephants were engaged in combat."And so much rape. I almost find that to be the worst thing. And by Johnny's account, it's just a part of the spoils of war. Johnny describes the spoils this way: "There had to be a reason for looting, just as there had to be a reason for drowning one's dog; well, instead of saying we were eliminating rabies, we had decreed that every person owning a likeness of that "tribalist" and "regionalist" president was a traitor. Especially if the person had valuables worth looting." And there's so much apathy that he later says, "Too bad for the other people in the district--they should have known better than to be born Mayi-Dogos." 

Yeah, I know, I'm writing like these are real people and this is a real account. But I can't imagine it's that far off from a lot of thinking during wars like this. The world is distressing. DO BETTER, WORLD.