Caterva (meaning throng or horde) tells the story of seven erudite,
homeless, and semi-incompetent radicals traveling from city to city in
an attempt to foment a revolution: conspiring with striking workers,
setting off bombs, and evading the local authorities. But this is no
political thriller. Like his literary descendant Julio Cortazar--who
mentions this book in Hopscotch--Filloy is far more concerned with his
characters' occasionally farcical inner lives than with their radical
machinations. With its encyclopedic feel, and its satirical look at both
solidarity and nonconformity, Caterva is considered to be among
Filloy's greatest achievements.