#12 Cartagena (2007) Nam Le

#12 Cartagena (2008)- Nam Le

In Nam Le's second story from The Boat, we come across the issue of originality.  I’m not sure which is sadder: that just by seeing the title Cartagena we know the story will be about Columbian teenage drug gangs, or that stories about Columbian teenage drug gangs is too cliché to elicit excitement.

From the first few pages, seeing the words Medellin, El Padre, Escobar, etc. made me lose excitement for this story.  Seems like I’ve read this story before. For example, there is a flashback scene where the future hardened drug lord learns the harsh lessons of life from watching his father murdered and mother raped while hidden under his bed.  If I haven’t read that somewhere before, I’m sure I’ve at least seen it in a Tarantino movie.

Ron is a young teenaged “sicario,” an assassin, a “soldado” for a cause. Presumably this cause is his agent or gang boss getting richer. The dilemma is whether Ron will fulfill a contract he was given to kill someone he knows.

“Killing has never been the business of the gallada.”

Like I said, we’ve all seen this before, seemingly 1,000 times.  However, it is the story telling skills of Le that this story remains somewhat engaging, and the ending is certainly satisfying.  Well written, but ultimately forgettable. 

Notable Passage: “I cannot hold my eyes to his. Everywhere I look ate the flames of candles. It is truly like the inside of a church, I think, although I cannot remember having been inside one for years”

Rating: 8-5-7-5 Total =25