Ministry of Special Cases

The nice thing about the train, I've said (everybody's said), is it gives a little mental space to read. After doing a bit of work, I finished up "The Ministry of Special Cases," a comic/tragic novel set in Buenos Aires set during the early days of the military junta in the mid-70s.

It helped reading it having been to B.A., it's a very particular city. One example--it's key knowing just how wide the River Plate is--it's like an ocean, really.

The narrative arc went somewhere completely different than I expected it to and left me feeling pretty glum. Also left me on an empty train because I read the last 10 pages after we pulled into Penn Station! It's a good book, kind of leaden funny in some places, but overall I recommend it.