Steps Under Water

By Alicia Kozameh

Book Overview

Steps Under Water is a novel drawn from Alicia Kozameh's experiences as a political prisoner in Argentina during the "Dirty War" of the 1970s.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520203887
• ISBN13: 9780520203884
• Release Date: November 1996
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 161 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Brilliant

It is hard to believe that the dark history of Argentina is still very close in our memory. This book, by someone who lived it, is a testimony for all the Disappeared, her friends and comrades and fellow students who didn't survive the military dictatorship in this beautiful, complex, deeply troubled country.

A voice of survival

"Steps Under Water," by Alicia Kozameh, is a powerful contribution to Latin American literature. The author endured imprisonment under an oppressive regime in Argentina, and later left the country as an exile. This novel, as she states in a brief preface, is drawn from her experiences and from those of others who similarly suffered.The novel focuses on Sara, a writer who (like the author) endures imprisonment and exile. The fragmented, sometimes disorienting text is made up of several elements: Sara's prison journal entries, letters between Sara and her sister, scenes from Sara's life outside prison, and more.The novel explores the toll taken on those who endured these ordeals, and also looks at the effect of imprisonment on people's families. Kozameh's characters also reconsider the very concept of freedom. This haunting novel should be read by all those with a serious interest in Latin American literature or human rights.

the fragments of identity

In Steps Under Water Alicia Kozameh fictionalizes her three years of imprisonment during the turbulent period after Juan Peron's death and the subsequent military dictatorships (1975-78). From the bits of notes on toilet paper smuggled out of prison under the lining of her sandals and through notes hidden in unlikely places, Sara and other prison inmates retain a sense of identity and of solidarity. The threads of connection of one human to another are frayed by the torture, confinement and sensory deprivation, yet Kozameh reaffirms human dignity by refusing to give up language, which to her is as life giving as breath itself.Saul Sosnowski's concise historical introduction and David E. Davis' excellent translation provide the reader both context and an important work from the period of the Proceso.