Gracias por el fuego

My last two posts were about Spain. Today I'd like to share my observations about the book I read some time ago. Gracias por el fuego was written by Mario Benedetti who is an Uruguay writer. In this book he tells us about the fifties in Uruguay. The book tells story about Ramón Budiño, who is disappointed with the situation in his country and his own life. He hates his father and he blames him for all his failures. Another thing is that his father is the symbol of Uruguay. He's one of the most powerful men in the country, but for Ramón he is the epitome of all the worst. He's corrupt and he is inconsiderate to anyone. Ramón feels frustrated and that's why he thinks that the only solution to feel free is to kill his father. However he feels unable to do this.

Gracias por el fuego is book about frustrations, the frustration about living in someone's shadow, the frustration about living in a corrupt country under dictatorship and, finally, the frustration of the inability to end what we've planned. In this book we can see two important plans: political and personal. The personal crisis of the main carcter reflects the crisis of his country.

I can truly recommend this book to all who are interested in the Latin America literature and to all who just want to read an interesting book.