Genre: Thriller
Author: Ernesto Sábato
Translators: Margaret Sayers Peden, Colm Tóibín (Introduction)
Year published: 2011 (English translation)
TWs: Abuse, Death
Rating: 4.5/5
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be trapped inside someone’s mind? That’s exactly what reading ‘The Tunnel’ by Ernesto Sábato feels like. This short Argentine novel pulls you into the obsessive psyche of its narrator and refuses to let you go until the last line. It’s dark, unsettling, and disturbingly realistic.
“All our life would it be a succession of anonymous cries in a desert of indifferent stars?”
Synopsis
The story is told through the diary of Juan Pablo Castel, a reclusive painter who confesses from the start that he has murdered a woman named María Iribarne. What follows is not a whodunit, but a descent into why. Castel recounts how he became fixated on María after noticing her attention to a tiny, overlooked detail in one of his paintings, a woman gazing out of a small window. To him, that brief connection proves she is the only person who truly understands him.
What begins as admiration quickly turns into obsession. Castel’s mind becomes a maze of jealousy, paranoia, and delusion as he tries to possess María completely, convinced that her affection is his salvation. However, his reasoning quickly spirals from passionate longing to chilling obsession.
“But I don’t know what you will gain by seeing me. I hurt everyone who comes near me.”
My Thoughts
‘The Tunnel’ is one of those books that completely pulls you into someone’s head, and not in a comfortable way. Being inside Castel’s mind feels tense, claustrophobic, and at times almost exhausting, but that’s what makes it so fascinating. Sábato doesn’t rely on dramatic events or plot twists to keep you hooked; he does it through pure psychology.
I’ll admit, the first half absolutely blew me away. Castel’s voice is sharp, sarcastic, and weirdly funny in that dark, cynical way. You can almost sympathize with him, even though you know you shouldn’t. He reminds me of the kind of person who overanalyses everything until it falls apart and watching that self-destruction unfold is strangely addictive.
Yet as his obsession with María deepens, the tone shifts. The humour fades, replaced by paranoia, jealousy, and possessiveness. It gets heavy and uncomfortable, and that’s exactly the point. You start to feel trapped right along with him, watching him spiral further into delusion.
What I really loved, though, was how simple the writing is. Sábato doesn’t waste words, yet every line lands like a punch. The recurring theme of blindness, literal and emotional, ties everything together beautifully. María’s husband may be blind, but it’s really Castel who refuses to see the truth about himself. Even though the ending is a little abrupt, I think it was intentional which is why I can’t really fault Sábato for it.
Overall, ‘The Tunnel’ isn’t a comfortable read. It makes you question how far obsession and loneliness can twist someone’s mind, and how easy it is to mistake love for control. So if you like stories that dig deep into human psychology and leave you a little unsettled, this one’s definitely worth your time.
Happy Reading!
About the Author
Ernesto Sábato (1911–2011) was one of Argentina’s most influential literary figures, a physicist turned novelist whose work explores existential despair and moral isolation. His other acclaimed novels include ‘On Heroes and Tombs’ and ‘The Angel of Darkness’, which expand on the themes first explored in ‘The Tunnel’. Upon his death, El País described him as ‘the last classic writer of Argentine literature.’
Find more his Goodreads page!
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