Fiction Book Reviews

Book Review: Malvinas Requiem

By Sandy Amazeen Sep 29, 2007, 23:54 GMT

For twenty-four deserters of the Argentine army, winter’s bitter cold seeped into every pore as they hid out in an underground mountain cave during the last weeks of the Falklands War. Held together by the Four Kings who their controlled movements, stockpiled supplies and kept the group focused on survival as they hunkered down while the British and Argentine armies shelled each other, it was a bleak existence yet better then getting shot at on the front lines. The trials that come with staying hidden from both sides who would unhesitatingly shoot or imprison the deserters are daunting even as they serve to draw the men together. With little to do beyond staying out of sight and listening to the radio, lively discussion and animated arguments lighten the tone of what could be a very depressing read. Black humor, politics and the utter futility of war are the underlying themes of this sometimes disturbing look at a different aspect of the military.