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Soria, Claudia. Los cuerpos de Eva: Anatomía del deseo femenino. Buenos Aires: Beatriz Viterbo Editora, 2005. 224 pp. ISBN 950-845-057-6
Probably no historical character has aroused as much controversy in Latin America and, in particular, Argentina as Eva Perón. Even Ernesto Che Guevara, arguably her only rival in this regard, has arguably become domesticated as mechanical and electronic reproduction has turned him into an icon of vague social unease, if not mere hipness. Only those who have inherited a personal stake in Che's actions, as the Cuban exiles, or who, like him, oppose international capitalism, even if with other means and goals, still relate emotionally to his figure. Despite the existence of a globalized image of Eva Perón, the fact that, unlike Guevara, she became a central icon only in Argentina explains the continued profound libidinal investment in her figure and story. Given the continued relevance of Eva Perón it is not surprising that a number of significant works have been produced about her. These texts-by Argentine authors such as Rodolfo Walsh, Tomás Eloy Martínez, Abel Posse, but also by non-Argentines, like Alan Parker-constitute what Claudia Soria in Los cuerpos de Eva: Anatomia del deseo femenino calls "el sistema Evita" (11). Los cuerpos de Eva is, among other things, a well-written and rigorous Lacanian analysis of this "Evita system" and of the '"artefacto' Evita" which it constructs and which, as Soria adds, "poco tiene que ver con la realidad histórica y mucho con la...