{"product_id":"mad-toy-paperback","title":"Mad Toy - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRoberto Arlt\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRoberto Arlt, celebrated in Argentina for his tragicomic, punch-in-the-jaw writing during the 1920s and 1930s, was a forerunner of Latin American \"boom\" and \"postboom\" novelists such as Gabriel Garc?a M?rquez and Isabel Allende. \u003ci\u003eMad Toy\u003c\/i\u003e, acclaimed by many as Arlt's best novel, is set against the chaotic background of Buenos Aires in the early twentieth century. Set in the badlands of adolescence, where acts of theft and betrayal become metaphors for creativity, \u003ci\u003eMad Toy\u003c\/i\u003e is equal parts pulp fiction, realism, detective story, expressionist drama, and creative memoir.\u003cbr\u003eAn immigrant son of a German father and an Italian mother, Arlt as a youth was a school dropout, poor and often hungry. In \u003ci\u003eMad Toy, \u003c\/i\u003e he incorporates his personal experience into the lives of his characters. Published in 1926 as \u003ci\u003eEl juguete rabioso\u003c\/i\u003e, the novel follows the adventures of Silvio Astier, a poverty-stricken and frustrated youth who is drawn to gangs and a life of petty crime. As Silvio struggles to bridge the gap between exuberant imagination and the sordid reality around him, he becomes fascinated with weapons, explosives, vandalism, and thievery, despite a desperate desire to rise above his origins. Flavored with a dash of romance, a hint of allegory, and a healthy dose of irony, the novel's language varies from the cultured idiom of the narrator to the dialects and street slang of the novel's many colorful characters.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMad Toy\u003c\/i\u003e has appeared in numerous Spanish editions and has been adapted for the stage and for film. It is the second of Arlt's novels to be translated into English.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eArlt's influence on figures like Borges, Cortazar, Onetti, and Piglia is substantial--and equally so are his literary reverberations today, when his grim, sordid view of life seems to speak louder than ever before.--Ilan Stavans, editor of \"Mutual Impressions: Writers from the Americas Reading One Another\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRoberto Arlt (1900-42) was an Argentine writer who published numerous plays and novels during his lifetime.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 184\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.49 x 9.16 x 5.52 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 18, 2002\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41722512638087,"sku":"9780822329404","price":33.43,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/6e63d6236bc856afa475027a402003a1.webp?v=1734099541","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/mad-toy-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}