Piglia - Money to Burn

 "After all, what is robbing a bank compared to founding one?" - Bertolt Brecht

After reading halfway through this novel, I thought they were about to go back to this quote and relate to it, but nope. This book reminded me of the Netflix show, Money Heist. I'm not truly sure why, it was only because they are both stories about a robbery and then a shootout after a failed escape. Another thing I noticed was that, these characters were so young! The Kid, Dorda, as well as other characters from this story were around 20 years old. Some were older and some, like Blanca were even younger (16 years). This shocked me so much because it is a story about a violent crime. However, it did take place in the past which may explain it a little bit, but also because of their development/upbringing. 

Though, I found it interesting that the book did not really talk about why they stole. The book didn't mention that, for instance, they stole because of poverty and they didn't want to work for it. What the book  mentioned was that the Kid, for instance, was from a wealthy family which had a good reputation. However, he still chose the life of crime. As well, the book showed that Dorda and the Kid have psychological illnesses, as they heard voices in their heads. Some people, in the book, suggested that they were simply pure evil. Additionally, during the shootout, they even burned the money they robbed. If they did not steal for the money, then why did they do it? Why did they go through all of that? I think it may have been because they did not care about the money anymore, as they knew they were about to get caught anyways. Alternatively, they may have not stolen for the money initially. They simply enjoy this lifestyle, and they, Dorda and the Kid, simply enjoyed doing this together. Similar to the Crow as well because the book also mentioned that he was insane and also enjoyed the life of crime. However, when Blanca got captured, I'm pretty sure he was significantly angry and wanted to rescue her but it was too late. 

Interestingly, while I was reading this book, I found myself being on the robbers' side for most of the time.  For instance, when the Kid was dying in Dorda's arms and he asked if he killed the cop, then Dorda responded with, "Of course you did, sweetheart" (181) I felt like I was watching a movie and actually almost cried. Similarly, I felt the same when the book described each officer who fell victim to the robbers because after they were shot/killed, the author would give a little blurb of their life. For instance, there was one officer who got shot and eventually died, then the book revealed that he had children at home that he wouldn't be able to go back to anymore. That actually broke me. After watching the lecture, I realized that I was kind of on the side of the robbers because the book "humanized" them. Piglia gave them background stories which gave the readers something to relate to. However, after I learned that most of the story was fake, I did a 180 and didn't feel bad for the robbers anymore (LOL). I thought the whole thing was real and was told more in the robbers' perspectives to humanize them because it was actually working but it was all made up.

Discussion Question:

If they did not steal for the money, then why did they do it? Why did they go through all of this?