Review by Frank Plowright
Diego Arandojo is a documentary journalist with a considerable 21st century back catalogue, which makes the occult weirdness of The Hidden River all the more surprising. The sample page displays an awareness of how to hook readers early. Who wouldn’t want to find out more about Robert Arlt after that description? And a picture search confirms the truth of the observations. From there it’s a short leap to buy into Arandojo’s world of Arlt being involved in the occult, yet it’s not only him, but many other Argentinian artistic and literary greats throughout the 20th century.
The protagonist excavating occult research from the past is the wonderfully named Fausto Dumrauf, who unearths rare books and meets people who in turn have met people as Arandojo’s clever first person narrative builds a murky layer of thrill and anticipation. This is matched by Jorge Fantoni’s accomplished illustration presenting locations as absolutely real, but with disturbing intrusions. He mixes portraits of known historical figures with distinctive people of his own creation, supporting a world where the hideous may lie just beneath the surface. Fantoni’s skill goes a long way to propping up what just drifts away.
Unfortunately, despite such a compelling start, The Hidden River eventually disappoints for being a clever exercise in besmirching the names of the past, but one long shaggy dog story. Arandojo uses the book as repository for strange incidents, but makes no connections between them and it becomes a succession of anticlimaxes. A person is introduced, has their story built up over a couple of pages of mysticism and then nothing happens. Perhaps that too is mystical coincidence. As much of life can be a lack of fulfilment The Hidden River ultimately reflects that more than the unknown.
