Reading: Eduardo Sacheri, The Secret in their Eyes, pp. 1-121

Eduardo Sacheri, The Secret in their Eyes. Trans. John Cullen. NY: Other Press, 2011 (2005).

I. pp.1-121

1. Eduardo Sacheri, The Secret in their Eyes. Trans. John Cullen. NY: Other Press, 2011 (2005).
   I. pp.1-121
   1.    How important is the Deputy Clerk in the Argentine judicial system, compared to that of attorney or judge? (p. vii)
   2.    How is the city of Buenos Aires portrayed in this novel? (p. 1) How does it compare to other portrayals we have encountered, in The Official Story, Clandestine Childhood and Kamchatka (both novel and film)?
   3.    How is Benjamín Chaparro characterized? (p. 2) What does his name suggest? What are the sources of his unhappiness?
   4.    How does he feel about his coworkers in the Palace of Justice and how are they characterized? (pp 3-4)
   5.    What is the interaction between Benjamín and Judge Irene Hornos like? What does it suggest about the history of their relationship? (pp. 4-6)
   6.    What sort of attitude does Benjamín have toward technology? (p. 7)
   7.    Why does he skip out on his own retirement luncheon? (p. 9)
   8.    How does Benjamín explain to himself his obsession with the story of Ricardo Morales? (p. 11)
   9.    What does Benjamín fear will happen to him in retirement? (p. 12)
   10.    How are his relationships with his two ex-wives, Silvia and Marcela, described? (p. 13)
   11.    How is street life in Buenos Aires different in 2000 than it was in 1968, when the Morales murder occurred? (p. 15) What would account for these differences?
   12.    Why does Benjamín decide to write an autobiographical narrative instead of a novel? (p. 16)
   13.    What are the various beginnings that he contemplates using for his book? (p. 18)
   14.    Comment on the following paradoxical description of Ricardo Morales: “Morales, who had the face of a confirmed idiot, was a man endowed with intelligence, memory, and a power of observation the likes of which I’ve never encountered in my life before and would never encounter again.” (p. 19)
   15.    How did Morales’ relationship with Liliana Colotto change him? (pp. 20-21)
   16.    Comment on the following statement: “Because he felt that Liliana gave him happiness he wasn’t entitled to, . . . [a]ll his memories of her were tinged with that sense of immanent disaster, of a catastrophe lying in wait around the corner.” (p. 20)
   17.    Why does Benjamín like to go to the cinema? (p. 25)
   18.    On May 30, 1968, why had Benjamín and Pedro Romano spent the night sleeping in the judge’s chambers? What sort of relationship has this encouraged in the two of them? (p. 26)
   19.    How would Benjamín later come to feel about Romano? (p. 28)
   20.    Why is Benjamín angry with himself for not finishing law school? (p. 29)
   21.    In what sense are courts like islands? (p. 30)
   22.    Why does Benjamín conclude that he “is screwed”? What kind of an asshole is his boss? (p. 31)
   23.    How does Benjamín characterize the behavior of the police at a crime scene? (p. 36-38)
   24.    What is Benjamín’s first impression of the murder victim? (p. 39)
   25.    How is Alfredo Báez different from most other cops? (p. 40)
   26.    How does the neighbor woman describe the man she saw leaving the scene of the crime? (pp. 41-42)
   27.    What is the interaction like between Báez and Falcone, the medical examiner? (p. 42)
   28.    How does Báez behave with his subordinates? (p. 43) How does this compare to what you have seen in U.S. detective fiction and cop shows?
   29.    When they enter the bank to inform Morales about his wife’s murder, what emotions does Benjamín experience? (pp. 46-47)
   30.    How does Morales’ grief register on his face and what does Benjamín reflect about this? (p. 49-51)
   31.    When Romano announces that the case has been solved, how does Benjamín react and what does he remember about Romano’s social situation? (p. 53)
   32.    What does Romano conclude about the suspects’ probable guilt, based on their physical appearance? (p. 56)
   33.    Why does Benjamín get angry when Romano announces that they have already gotten the prisoners ready for interrogation? (p. 57)
   34.    What steps does Benjamín point out to Homicide Lieutenant Sicora that he has skipped, in the process of charging the suspects? (pp. 58-61)
   35.    What charges does Benjamín file against Romano and Sicora? (p. 63)
   36.    During their first one-on-one conversation, what aspects of Morales’ behavior elicit further compassion from Benjamín? (pp. 65-73)
   37.    What punishment does he assure Morales that the murderer will get if he is caught? (pp. 65-70)
   38.    Why does Morales say that he likes rainy days? (p. 71)
   39.    After three months of no progress on the case, how does Benjamín react to the clerk’s request to seal the file? (p. 77) What does he do to keep the case active? (p. 79)
   40.    In 1968, why did Benjamín start using the formal “Usted” form in addressing Irene and why does he regret that now? (p. 84)
   41.    Why didn’t Benjamín act on his feelings for Irene in 1968? (pp. 89-90) How about when they met again in 1976? In 1983? In 1992?
   42.    How does he react to her using the familiar “Vos” form with him now?
   43.    How does entering the General Archive make Benjamín feel? (p. 97) How is the Archive described? (pp. 98-99)
   44.    What does Benjamín remember and miss about his old friend Pablo Sandoval? What became of Sandoval? (pp. 101-103)
   45.    In what context does Benjamín first run across the name Isidoro Gómez? (p. 107)
   46.    When Morales invites Benjamín to look over his photographs of Liliana before he destroys them, what catches Benjamín’s attention, and how does this relate to the title of the novel? (117-121)
   47.    If you have read other detective novels (or watched thriller movies), how does Benjamín compare to the detectives in them? What sort of detective story does this seem like it is going to be?