Pubis Angelical

By Manuel Puig

Translated by Elena Brunet

Random House, Inc; pp. 236; $6.95.

PART MYSTERY, part fantasy and part political statement, Pubis Angelical is an ambitious work that attempts to bring together a complex structure and a message of compassion. Manuel Puig, author of the brilliantly successful novel Kiss of the Spider Woman, is counted among the finest contemporary Latin American writers.

This, his most recent novel, combines the fantasy and magic that are the trademark of current Latin American fiction, but also of the author's own brand of passion and sexual intrigue. It is a virtuosic work that takes on a variety of ideas and stories, remaining engaging throughout its many facets. And still it attempts to go beyond its technical workmanship. It has a sympathetic message to deliver, revealed in the closing words: "More than to hug them, I want ... to talk to them ... and it could even be ... that we would understand each other ...."

Pubis Angelical tells three seemingly unconnected stories of three women. They are an enigmatic Austrian-born movie star of the 1940s described only as "the most beautiful woman in the world," a conscripted state prostitute named W218 in a future world reshaped by geological disaster, and Ana, a refugee from Argentina being treated for cancer in Mexico City in 1975.

THE STORIES of the movie star and of W218 are spun out of fantasy, full of superhuman characters and improbable events; by contrast, Ana is portrayed through her diary entries and conversations as a believable and realistic character, with human proportions and human problems--illness, exile, old lovers. The novel shuttles back and forth between these separate narratives, creating a web of associations and hazy relationships between the three women. But little is revealed to the reader for certain; of this complex interplay we know only that W218 is a descendent of the long-dead movie star, whom she sees in her dreams. And perhaps the two women are present only in Ana's dreams.

This unorthodox structure serves as the basis for Puig's considerable technical skill, blending in common themes and elements. Each woman is in some way searching for an ideal man; but while the actress and W218 meet the men of their dreams--in colorfully romantic scenes--Ana can only sigh wistfully.

Sex is a powerful force in many ways throughout the novel; it is a tool of political intrigue, a commodity exchanged between men and women, and a road to happiness. Politics rears its somewhat ugly head in each woman's life--complete with bizarre schemes and dangerous, extremely good-looking spies--usually to the woman's utter dismay. And the otherworldly is present in large measure; the dead return to life, women develop into telepaths, angels fall from heaven.

Understandably, Pubis Angelical is a fun book to read. Its three distinct stories are often exciting, as the actress glides from life-threatening escapade to blissful romantic encounter, as W218 runs off to her forbidden lover. Unexpected twists to the plot keep the reader on his toes. And the vague relationships and incomplete developments of so much of the novel maintain an atmosphere of suspense. The reader cannot help but wonder how the characters are related, who is in love with whom, who is a spy, why the age of thirty is so significant, how the dead have come back to life.

But as a whole, Pubis Angelical does not live up to the expectations created by the skillful writing and the intimations of impending revelation. Sometimes the recurring plot elements seem to repetitive, a passionate lover after passionate lover turns out to be a spy; sometimes the exaggerated characters become only tiresome stereotypes. Some passages can be relatively tedious, such as the tired political debates relived over and over in Ana's hospital room the repeated philosophizing on ideal relationships between men and women. Dialogue often tends to be melodramatic:

...only once your lips exquisite ... illuminated with a kiss my desire, it was the light flutter of a butterfly's visit ... I've been always a slave and just briefly a sire...

Gratuitous, unnecessary fantasy is an irresponsible luxury that Puig uses too often.

PUIG IS not the magician with words that some of his contemporaries are; though perhaps partly the fault of the translator, his prose does not roll forward with the colorful sweep of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, does not maintain the lively, fresh tone of Julio Cortazar. Finally Pubis Angelical is not successful when considered as a whole. The three interwoven parts of the narrative do not converge to a single story; they are not unified by a definite connection between the characters, and their similarities do not, in the end, seem very convincing. The optimistic, peaceful conclusion of the novel is nice enough, but does not seem adequately prepared; the message does not fit the story.

So while Pubis Angelical is interesting, enjoyable work by one of the world's finest living novelists, in the end it is a work of style rather than substance. Puig shows off both his technical ability and his imagination, but in the end does not do justice to them. The literary skill and creative freedom of an accomplished writer make Pubis Angelical a tolerable book to read. But on completion, it is not a satisfying book to think about; there is still the impression that something more could have been done, that something remained to be said.