Jaime Bunda, Secret Agent: Story of Various Mysteries in Around the World in 80 Books

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Feb 09, 2025 Tony rated it it was ok

Shelves: crime, novels, translated-fiction, setting-africa

I'm reading a bunch of Angolan fiction right now, so picked this up as it looked potentially more entertaining and less serious than many of the other options. The story revolves around the titular figure, a 20-something very low-level member of some kind of police or security service in Angola. The joke here is that our protagonist is known for his massive posterior, with "Bunda" translating to "Butt" and thus "James Butt" rather than the dashing 007...

The story opens with Bunda being assigned I'm reading a bunch of Angolan fiction right now, so picked this up as it looked potentially more entertaining and less serious than many of the other options. The story revolves around the titular figure, a 20-something very low-level member of some kind of police or security service in Angola. The joke here is that our protagonist is known for his massive posterior, with "Bunda" translating to "Butt" and thus "James Butt" rather than the dashing 007...

The story opens with Bunda being assigned to his first case, the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl, whose body was discovered along a highway adjacent to the ocean. Despite this seemingly grim setup, it's clear that this is a farce -- unfortunately, farce is hard to sustain, and the broad humor isn't generally that funny. From the initial investigation into the dead girl, the plot spins wildly into other directions, including a Lebanese smuggler, Bunda's married girlfriend and her husband, an Algerian belly dancer, a con artist witch doctor type, plastic chamber pots, an unnamed powerful member of Bunda's own agency, and all manner of local family, acquaintances, and coworkers with their own agendas and bones to pick.

Written by a former guerilla and then Angolan Vice Minister of Education, the book's satire is clearly meant as commentary on the corrupt direction that Angolan society has taken. Everyone (Bunda included) is constantly jockeying for power, influence, and prestige (not to mention use of a car, gun, better housing, more beers, better whiskey, etc.), and truth and justice are only relevant in as much as they can be leveraged to personal advantage. Hierarchy is a key theme throughout the book, invoked in every relationship and interaction.

I found it all to be a bit of a slog, with moments of interest and color. And even as farce, the role of women (and girls) throughout the book is hard to take. I'm really not sure I can recommend it to anyone, even readers with a strong interest in Angolan fiction -- it just didn't work for me. ...more

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Jun 18, 2014 Beverly marked it as to-read

Shelves: unread-on-my-bookshelf-print, translation, angola, 2025printcopiesshelf

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Dec 10, 2015 Enthu_Kidlets marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2016-around-the-world

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Around the World in 80 Books