Sábato's third novel [Abaddón el exterminador] is a long and sprawling work which reviews and intensifies many of the themes and concerns of El túnel … and Sobre héroes y tumbas…. The work is divided into two sections of which the first is extremely short and functions like a prologue. The second section contains 114 chapters or fragments which are not numbered, and the author frequently uses the first words of each chapter as a chapter heading. The novel has no plot and its organizational configuration is a labyrinth through which the reader wanders, at times accompanied by Sábato, who is a character in the novel. At one point the anguish and frustration in the work is so intense that a polarization of the entity Sábato takes place, and Sábato-character meets and contemplates Sábato-author. Significantly, no communication takes place and tears are...