34th Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires April 24th - May 12th

Perhaps Latin-America's most important book-fair closes in two days. More than 1, 25 million peple have visited so far. Porteños are reading people.

Naomi Klein (No Logo) came opening day Thursday 24th of April to present her new book "The Shock Doctrine", about people of power cashing in on the chaos. Not only shocking, suggestive as well.

Friday I opted for Nordic Night. Oscar Hemer (S), Michael Ib (DK), Jo Nesbø (N) and Kjell Vesto (F) presented their new translations to Spanish and talked of Latin experiences in and outside Buenos Aires.




Jo Nesbø's hardcore, political crime novel "Petirojo" (original Rødstrupe) was litterary robbed in transport from the publisher.
A marketing scoop, or..? Now available on the black book market of Buenos Aires.




Saturday May 3rd Tom Wolfe came and lectured. The novel is still dead.. I missed it. Asado with friends a lovely Saturday afternoon was by far more attractive...

Tonight, however, the Spanish lawyer Baltazar Garzón spoke of his book "El alma de los Verdugos" (The victims' soul), a story of kidnapping and torture during Argentina's last dictatorship. For my part, the interesting reasoning was the connection between lawers and journalists, both revealers of truth. And the admittance that truth were hidden on behalf of both due to dread of running the same destiny as the disappeared, tortured and murdered.

After the lecture, I picked up a protest leaflet at his publisher's stand. The ETA mocks him for not engaging in Spanish', national concerns and the tortureded ETA-soldiers. And there the cycle closes. We are all afraid to cut off the arm which feeds us.

Good thing Branca Mente had a stand with free drinks after that..