Like Flies from Afar - K.Ferrari translated by Adrian Nathan West

 

Oh this is delicious, darkly humorous, violent and irreverent but oh my goodness what an entertaining and immersive read it is. Wonderfully translated by Adrian Nathan West Like Flies from Afar follows the rather unpleasant Luis Machi through a torturous few hours after he discovers a corpse chained in the trunk of his flashy BMW. Nouveau Riche, self-made Machi who snorts his way through life and tosses people aside like discarded tissues is consumed by thoughts of who could possibly have set him up in this way. He is as crooked as the day is long so it’s unsurprising that somebody might be out to get him. But in this bitingly sharp, satirical Argentinian noir Ferrari has concisely taken us on a rollercoaster ride that you don’t really want to stop no matter how distasteful some of the subject matter is. In some ways it reminded me of Pascal Garnier. You know you shouldn’t but you’re almost rooting for the protagonist to succeed. And sometimes you can’t believe that anybody has the audacity to behave as Machi does much less an author finding the words to shock and entertain in one fell swoop. It’s crisp, muscular writing that gives you just enough detail to let your imagination run free. And that ending! Oh what a stroke of genius! This is the kind of story that could be made into such a good film. Provided it got past the censors that is!

Thanks to my local library for not just having a copy on their shelves but reserving it for me.