In a season that will also see the publication of Lawrence Thornton's Naming the Spirits, here is another understated yet powerful novel that focuses on Argentina's fascist military dictatorship (1976-1983), under which thousands were arrested, tortured, kidnapped or murdered by right-wing death squads. Fifteen years ago, American citizen Diego lived with an Argentine family as an exchange student. In the mid-1980s, he has returned to Argentina's fragile democracy to investigate the disappearance of two of the family's three sons, both members of the underground resistance; the third son has also returned, from exile in Paris. Through the Benevento family's personal tragedy, the enormity of the junta's crimes unfolds. Both Mama and Papa were arrested illegally and spent months in detention camps; their house was later burned to the ground by paramilitary goons. The story line oscillates between Diego's detective-like inquiry into the disappearance of Alejo and Miguel Benevento, both murdered by the government, and his reportage on the trial of Argentina's former military leaders, at which Papa reveals details of his sons' torture and execution. Unger's (The Turkey War) writing is low-keyed yet taut; through Diego, he serves as witness and conscience, fashioning an eloquent testament against human-rights abuses. Where Naming the Spirits (Forecasts, May 29) uses magical realism to convey this period of Argentine history, Unger takes pains to realistically describe the minutiae of daily life and the specific circumstances of the regime's reign of terror. Reading both books is a moving experience. 

American journalist Diego returns to Argentina to visit the Benevento family, with whom he had once lived as an exchange student?a tale chronicled in El Yanqui (LJ 11/1/86). He finds his family torn apart: the formerly wealthy parents now live in a small apartment, two of their sons were "disappeared" during the military dictatorship, and their oldest son has recently returned from exile in Paris. Of consuming interest to Diego and his family is the ongoing trial of the former military dictators on charges of human rights abuses, which will include testimony about the death of the Beneventos' youngest son. While Unger succeeds in conveying the horror of this time in Argentina's history and his outrage at the lack of world attention to the genocide, this potentially compelling novel is so weighed down with facts and figures that it leaves out any sense of drama or personal involvement. Recommended for larger collections or where El Yanqui was popular.