CLARA

A new translation of the veteran Argentinian writer's early (English, 1976) tale of a dreamy teenager who drifts into prostitution. Clara Hernandez learns ``discretion and obedience'' from her heartless pimp Victor (who also employs her as his household drudge), pines for a handsome waiter both before and after his wife dies, and marries a temperamental carnival performer'who proves to be only another of the many men who exploit her. Clara’s wistful innocence is credible enough, but her misadventures are awfully generic, and her passivity precludes the reader’s full identification with her. Valenzuela has since done much better than this.