"The Night Will Be Long" was not what I was expecting. The reviews (amply quoted in many places) raved. The reviewer from Publishers Weekly went so far as to compare the author to Roberto Bolano. If you take away nothing else from this review it should be that Santiago Gamboa is not Roberto Bolano. Other than their both being Latin American authors, I see no similarities.

I would describe this novel as run-of-the-mill detective/crime fiction. Some interesting dimensions to the story (e.g. corrupt evangelical leaders) but basically nothing to remember. The writing (in translation I admit) is pedestrian; the plot fairly predictable from the outset. Really can't understand the rave reviews. I think I was expecting literature and got pulp fiction. Of course, there is a outside chance it could be me and not all those reviewers at the core of the problem. Maybe! ( )