Super Short Summary

Purgatory by Tomás Eloy Martínez follows elderly Emilia Dupuy, who encounters her disappeared husband, Simón, in a New Jersey restaurant 30 years after his presumed death during Argentina's "Dirty War." Both cartographers, they were detained at a military checkpoint, and Simón was never seen again. Emilia's father, Orestes, a regime agent, may have orchestrated Simón's disappearance. The narrative explores themes of memory, reality, and propaganda. The novel contains descriptions of political oppression and forced disappearances.