"Mad Toy" by Roberto Alta
"Mad Toy" by Roberto Alta takes place in the bustling streets of the early 20th century Buenos Aires, and tells the tale of Silvio, a young man trying to find his footing in life, marked by camaraderie, resilience and his quest of identity. Personally, I enjoyed reading "Mad Toy" far more than "Combray" as with some parts of the story, I could empathize with Silvio, it was more straightforward with the challenges the characters had to face such as the struggles of the working class, and adapting to their environment. Thus, that made it much easier to understand and analyze the novel.
As a teenager, Silvio was up to no good, building cannons that he shot with his friends and running away from the police. Then, he started stealing with his friend, Enrique any loot that could be found in houses, such as wires and etc. This made him start the "Thieves Guild" where he decided to steal more expensive loot. From books to lightbulbs, he stole anything he could to earn money. I felt like as he was still a teenager, he wanted to be adventurous, anything that could give him a sense of adrenaline, trying to act all delinquent with his friends. What surprised me though was his ideas of coating his bullets with poison as well as trying to make makeshift bombs to send out as mail to the police, all these actions made him seemingly more cunning and cold-hearted. However, as in the library or when Enrique ran to Silvio's house almost being caught, they immediately became fearful of the consequences of their actions and that reminded me of Silvio and his "Thieves Guild" as still just kids.
After that experience, Silvio stopped doing thievery and grapples with reality as he struggles to find his second job. The novel delves into is mother struggling with her financial situation and the image of his mother crying was the emotional weight needed for Silvio to start earnestly trying to earn money, trying to adapt to his situation and search for opportunities to improve their financial woes. This paints a very realistic dynamic between the a family facing financial struggles especially with a mother and his eldest son dealing with poverty.
Discussion Question:
How does Silvio's character evolve throughout the novel and what are the key events that contribute to his personal growth?
I like your question, but would like to throw it back to you, especially as you don't say much about the second half of the book... does Astier learn or change as a result of his experiences? How different is the Astier of the end of the book compared with the beginning?
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