Book Review: “The Tango Singer” by Tomás Eloy Martínez

Martínez, who died only a few years ago, is a writer’s writer. I haven’t enjoyed a literary journey, such as his book led me on, since my days of reading Camus’ novels. Bruno Cadogan, the narrator, arrives in Buenos Aires ostensibly in search of the origins of tango. Thus begins a Sisyphus-worthy search for answers as Bruno desperately stalks the tracks of one mysterious tango singer, Julio Martel (oddly enough, there is a real-life Julio Martel singer). We begin to understand early on that the search goes beyond the literal and that the author (via his narrator) is excavating not only his native country, Argentina’s dark history (brutal dictators, forced prostitution of immigrant women, the Dirty War), but also the lofty literature of his compatriot, Jorge Luis Borges. Bruno is lodged in an apartment on Garay Street in Buenos Aires’ San Telmo barrio, where a metaphysical story unfolds, rather has unfolded, in a Jorge Luis Borges story called The Aleph. <a href="https://camillecusumano.medium.com/book-review-the-tango-singer-by-tom%C3%A1s-eloy-mart%C3%ADnez-3dca906190e1">Learn More</a>