cover image Redemption of the Cannibal Woman: And Other Stories

Redemption of the Cannibal Woman: And Other Stories

Marco DeNevi. Coach House Press, $10.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-88910-443-3

In this story collection Argentine writer Denevi exposes the pain and hope that coexist on the seamier side of life and love in Buenos Aires. A young gay bartender-hustler confesses to a fatal flirtation while giving us a glimpse of city nightlife: crowded, yet lonely. A brooding poet writes a fervent letter to her lover, launching a complaint against the vagaries and vanities of the intellectual world. Two melancholy sisters succumb to the charms of their unseen downstairs neighbor; they only hear him play tangos on his accordion. Denevi handles this potentially sentimental situation with humor and sensitivity. In another tale, an ungainly chorus girl, the Cannibal Woman of the title, dreams of love and escape with a dashing man. One evening a handsome man is in the audience; it seems as if her prayers have been answered, and Denevi builds to both an ironic plot twist and a moving redemption scene. His lean prose complements the mystery of the night world he brings to life; occasionally his tone is facile or forced, but his sympathy for his characters always comes through--out of night's shadows the final image of the Cannibal Woman offers hope. (Nov.)