{"product_id":"mad-toy-9780822329404","title":"Mad Toy","description":"\u003cp\u003eRoberto Arlt  celebrated in Argentina for his tragicomic  punch-in-the-jaw writing during the 1920s and 1930s  was a forerunner of Latin American boom and postboom novelists such as Gabriel Garca Mrquez and Isabel Allende. Mad Toy  acclaimed by many as Arlts best novel  is set against the chaotic background of Buenos Aires in the early twentieth century. Set in the badlands of adolescence  where acts of theft and betrayal become metaphors for creativity  Mad Toy is equal parts pulp fiction  realism  detective story  expressionist drama  and creative memoir. An immigrant son of a German father and an Italian mother  Arlt as a youth was a school dropout  poor and often hungry. In Mad Toy  he incorporates his personal experience into the lives of his characters. Published in 1926 as El juguete rabioso  the novel follows the adventures of Silvio Astier  a poverty-stricken and frustrated youth who is drawn to gangs and a life of petty crime. As Silvio struggles to bridge the gap between exuberant imagination and the sordid reality around him  he becomes fascinated with weapons  explosives  vandalism  and thievery  despite a desperate desire to rise above his origins. Flavored with a dash of romance  a hint of allegory  and a healthy dose of irony  the novels language varies from the cultured idiom of the narrator to the dialects and street slang of the novels many colorful characters. Mad Toy has appeared in numerous Spanish editions and has been adapted for the stage and for film. It is the second of Arlts novels to be translated into English.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45665912881205,"sku":"ByrdShop_0822329409","price":34.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780822329404.jpg?v=1782414079","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/mad-toy-9780822329404","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}