''On Heroes and Tombs'' ( es, Sobre héroes y tumbas) is a novel by Argentine writer

Ernesto Sabato Ernesto Sabato (June 24, 1911 – April 30, 2011) was an Argentine novelist, essayist, painter and physicist. According to the BBC he "won some of the most prestigious prizes in Hispanic literature" and "became very influential in the literary w ...

(1911–2011), first published in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in 1961 and translated by Helen R. Lane in 1981.

Plot summary

Nineteen-year-old Martín Castillo is a boy from Buenos Aires trying to find his path in life. He meets and falls in love with Alejandra Vidal Olmos, who with her father Fernando represents the "old", post-colonial and

autochthonous Autochthon, autochthons or autochthonous may refer to: Fiction * Autochthon (Atlantis), a character in Plato's myth of Atlantis * Autochthons, characters in the novel ''The Divine Invasion'' by Philip K. Dick * Autochthon, a Primordial in the ...

Argentina, which is seen mutating amid a strange and unsettling "new" world. The novel gives an evocative portrait of the city of Buenos Aires and its people.

Literary significance and criticism

This work, filled with dark and emotional imagery, is considered by many to be Sabato's

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

, and the section ''Informe sobre ciegos'' ("Report on the Blind"), about Fernando's distorted obsession with, and fear of, the blind, is a haunting, nightmarish contribution to

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

literature.

References to actual history, geography and current science

Interspersed with the text of the novel, as an almost

surrealistic Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

running commentary on it, is the italicised narrative of the flight, killing and ensuing odyssey of

Juan Lavalle Juan Galo Lavalle (17 October 1797 – 9 October 1841) was an Argentine military and political figure. Biography Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José Lavalle, general accountant of rents and t ...

, a classic Argentine subject.

Cultural influence

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

has optioned the film rights for this novel. Swedish

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavine ...

band

At the Gates At the Gates is a Swedish death metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal alongside In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At the Gat ...

' album ''

At War with Reality ''At War with Reality'' is the fifth studio album and major label debut by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates, released on 28 October 2014. It is the band's first album since '' Slaughter of the Soul'' (1995), marking the longest gap b ...

'' has lyrics based on this book. Its intro is a quote from this book. 1961 Argentine novels Novels by Ernesto Sabato Novels set in Buenos Aires {{1960s-novel-stub