"Kiss of the Spider Woman" by Manuel Puig

*Please note the change of venue. We are no longer able to meet at Charlies and will be looking for a new venue.
!!! Beware of scams! If you have been contacted about featuring your work at our meetings or have been asked for any kind of payment it is a scam.

Country: Argentina
Written in: 1976
Pages: 280

Starting as an experimental study of a romantic female character, Manuel Puig elaborated with streams of consciousness and unspecified dialogue to create this untraditional novel. Fast paced and challenging social, sexual and literature norms, it's seen as his most successful work, having been adapted into multiple films and plays.

Here's and excerpt from an excellent review on Medium:
One of the major ways in which literature has made its presence felt is as a tool of resistance. Manuel Puig’s novel The Kiss of the Spider Woman is such a battle waged through words, critiquing authoritative institutions, exploring the quest for freedom, and telling human stories of rebellion, love, and loss.
The novel was published in 1976 and is written mainly as dialogues between its dual protagonists — Luis Alberto Molina and Valentin Arregui Paz — detained in a Buenos Aires prison. Valentin is a Marxist rebel who is in jail for waging a political struggle against the government. Molina, who identifies as a woman and homosexual, is imprisoned for the sexual corruption of minors. They are cellmates, who go from strangers to friends and more. One might think that a story that is limited only to one location and written as dialogues between two people might be monotonous. But this is where Puig’s genius lies. Although the physical setting is confined, the reader can transcend that dingy cell, along with the characters, through the sole power of storytelling.

*****
New to the Hungry Hundred Book Club? Here's what you need to know:

1. Read the book (If you don't manage to finish it by the meetup date, don't worry. As long as you're not going to be too disappointed by spoilers, you're still welcome to join.)
2. Come to the meeting, usually (but not always!) on the last Sunday of every month.
3. Be prepared to order food/drink at the venue to show our appreciation for letting us use their space. This is a requirement. A lot of time and effort has been put into finding a place that will accommodate our group without an outrageous minimum charge or rental fee, and you'll never be asked to contribute to organiser fees, so please show your respect and support for the restaurant that's letting us use their space.
4. Discuss! It's a casual conversation, so don't be afraid to ask questions and let us know what you think.