Book Review: Cocaine Coast

Luis Bustos, Cocaine Coast. Portland, OR: Ablaze Comics, 2021. ISBN: 9781950912278. 

 

Genre: graphic novels and comics

Subgenre: nonfiction adaptation, true crime, narco stories

Format: e-book galley

Source: NetGalley

 

This is a graphic novel adaptation by Luis Bustos of Nacho Carreteros' nonfiction book Fariña: Historia e Indiscreciones del Narcotráfico en Galicia. The book came out in 2015, and it was then censored in March 2018 in Spain by court order. That court order was lifted in June 2018. A television series was produced from the book in Spain. Later, we get this graphic novel, which Netflix has picked up and made a series out of it. Some of this book history is discussed in the book's epilogue. 

The graphic novel shows how Galicia, a region in Northwest Spain and above Portugal, became a major hub for illegal drugs, especially cocaine from Colombia in the 1980s. From Galicia, the drugs moved through Spain and into Europe. A local culture of smugglers in illegal tobacco with local corruption already existed (and continues to exist) in the region. These tobacco lords in many cases just added cocaine to their black market businesses in order to enhance their profits. As the graphic novel shows, this was often enabled by local officials who often profited from the trade as well. 

The story takes us to the early days of the tobacco and black market trade to the rise and fall of the illegal cocaine trade. We get to meet the major capos who flourished at the time as well as the community women, mothers who lost families to the drug violence, and national law enforcement opposing them. 

The book presents an interesting topic overall, but the text at times can be a slow read. This is not exactly riveting reading. Also the narrative at times can jump back and forth. The art, mainly in grey tones and some red is suitable for the story. It reflects the content well. It can feel gritty and even a little depressing, but that goes with the overall topic. In addition, if you want to learn more, Carreteros' epilogue is worth it as he discusses not only the history of how the book came about but also goes over how the problem still persists. 

Overall, I liked the book, but it was not an easy read. As I mentioned, the prose can be slow, and the book's pacing can be slow. For English readers, Galician (Gallego) names and terms that are not always explained can be an issue. Heck, I am a native Spanish speaker, and I had an issue or two along the way. On a technical side note (this is not necessarily part of the review but it needs to be mentioned), the file provided was seriously slow to load each on the e-reader, which made reading this even more difficult. 

For libraries, I would consider this highly optional. If patrons have seen the Netflix series or they like other narco stories, this may be a good acquisition. Otherwise skip it. I am not buying it for my library unless a patron requests it. 

In the end, I liked it, but I am not enthusiastic about it. Slow pacing, confusing at times, and dry text just kept me from enjoying this more. It was OK for me. 

2 out of 5 stars. 

Book qualifies for this 2021 Reading Challenge: