It is one of the most compelling books for anyone interested in knowing about the independence movement in Latin America. This is a must read book in a great number of eduactional institutions in spanish-speaking America that will help anyone understand and appreciate hispanic culture.

Juan de la Rosa takes us to the 19th century in Latin America (Bolivia) and shows us how a people fought for its freedom. The novel mixes real facts with fiction; through its rich landscape and character descriptions, it transports us in time and space. We become sympathetic to little orphan Juan's suffering while growing up with unfriendly people, and his struggle to escape from opression. Through Juan's struggles we also see a whole people's fight for independence. There is a paralell maturing of Juan with the Bolivian independence movement. A high point in the novel is the battle between women and children on one side, armed with sticks and led by a blind woman, and the well-armed and cruel Spanish army on the other side. The novel is very effective in depicting the major players and crucial events in the independence movement. The development of Juan's particular story against the backdrop of the independence movement is really moving. While we become engaged in the historical developments we never lose sight of the personal struggles of the main character, including his search to find out his own identity. Higly recommended reading.

Piglia writes in his prologue to Assumed Name, that the story that gives its name to the book is perhaps the best he has ever written. He migth be rigth. What I can tell is that the short stories that compounds the book are a mixture of two generic kind of themes. The first one is a sort of vision on the, sometimes sordid, lifes of poor urban Argentinians. The second is related to the moral character and preocupations of revolutionaries. Some stories mix both themes. The result is a group of very readable and realistic short fictions.