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Editor's Choice

By Fernando Ramos

El misterio de las Tanias
Sebastián Edwards
Editorial Norma, colección La otra orilla

The plot of El misterio de las Tanias (The Mystery of the Tanias)—Chilean author Sebastián Edwards’ first novel—is based on two true stories separated by time and apparently unrelated.

The first story is about Haydée Tamara Bunke Bider, better known as “Tania” (a generic name that would be used years later for women recruited by the Cuban government as spies), a sophisticated, educated and beautiful woman. A believer in the ideas of the revolutionary left, spy and militant guerrilla, she was the companion of “Che” Guevara and died during an ambush by the Bolivian army in 1967. The second story focuses on two kidnappings by Argentina’s Montonero guerrilla movement, for which they obtained millions of dollars in ransom: brothers Juan and Jorge Born in 1974 and Heinrich Mentz, a Mercedes-Benz executive, in 1975.

A renowned economist and UCLA professor, Edwards is the protagonist of his own novel. The murder of his friend Roberto Stevenson leads Edwards, who is asked for help by the victim’s family, to become an amateur private detective.

Set during recent times, the story plunges the main character into a world of espionage and high-level corruption that involves several Latin American governments. During the course of the investigation, he discovers that the search for the “treasure of the Montoneros” may have activated the spy network known as “the Tanias.”

The plot is somewhat implausible—but the way in which it is told, quickly and intelligently, hooks the reader. The action takes place in different settings, from North America to Eastern Europe, passing through South America and Havana. This reveals the author’s cosmopolitan background, which shines through in his vivid description of the cities. The best example is the chapter set in Moscow.

El misterio de las Tanias is written without major literary aspirations. Nevertheless, it makes for a fun read.

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