A quote on the cover states as follows:

"A combination of a South American Western and a noir, Nothing But Dust has airs of Faulknerian tragedy in full Argentinian heat. A vicious circle of cruelty and redemption, written with complete austerity."

I haven't read any Faulkner but I have read Marguerite Duras and this book is the crushing and brutal tone of the family in [The Lover], but instead of Indochina we are on the Patagonian plains in Argentina. Rafael is the youngest of four sons, born right after the disapperance of the father, and is thus subsequently terrorized by the oldest twin brothers as if he were at fault. He finds no safety in the skirts of the mother as she is even more cruel, reigning over her family as harsh as the Patagonia environment reigns over her ranch. The beauty of the book comes from the beauty of the landscapes and the movement of the horses over it as they herd in the sheep for shearing. The rest is terrorizing, cold, cruel, and brutal, and even as Rafael tries to bring home hope, it leads to a brutal climax as we are reminded that in Patagonia our time here is temporary and once we leave there will be nothing but dust.

A stunning little gem translated from the original French. And the translation is fantastic. Much recommended.

Interestingly enough this book was winner of the Landerneau Prize for crime fiction but I'm not understanding why it won under this category. Either the crime fiction genre has changed dramatically but I felt this is really just a very dark, noir, literary Western. ( )