A Dead Bat In Paraguay was Roosh V’s first book. To summarize, it’s about Roosh V traveling in South America with chronic diarrhea. He gets rejected by most of the women he meets initially until he finds some success towards the latter part of the book. I call this “the Roosh V prequel” since it is about the period in time before he became good with women. This was right after he quit his job and went on his first trip to South America.
For improving your skill as a seducer, this is not a great book, but for understanding where Roosh V is coming from, it is a good read. Moreover, if you intend to travel in Latin America, it can give you a basic idea of the seduction scene over there. This was before Tinder and online dating – cold approach all the way. Roosh chronicles his adventures with wingmen while striking out repeatedly. It’s something any seducer can relate to. It’s all still a numbers game, and by the end of the book, Roosh played the game and won.
Contents
My Review of Dead Bat In Paraguay
So, as I’m sitting here in Latin America, Peru to be exact, with this used copy of a dead bat next to me. I’m writing this review so that after today I can throw the book away. Since I’m a minimalist, I don’t like keeping anything in my bags that are not essential to my travels.
Let’s start with the first chapter. Roosh hated his job as a microbiologist. He got a very decent salary, and his boss liked him. But underneath he was festering and hating his day-to-day monotonous existence. Eventually, he mustered the courage to quit his job and took his first flight to Quito, Ecuador. The rest is, as they say, history.
Roosh V. in Ecuador
Along with his travel experiences, he describes some of the sights of Quito. For example the Mitad del Mundo – the point where the equator passes over Ecuador. This is not only a guide on how he attempted to seduce women. It’s all Roosh’s memories and recollections, including being pickpocketed in Quito’s city center. In addition, he writes about accidental fumbles with prostitutes. Moreover, here and there he implements the techniques he teaches in “Bang“, the much more popular guidebook for seducing women.
Let me quote Roosh: “Teasing a girl and making her laugh goes farther than giving her a ride in a nice car”. In a society where its normal to be a materialistic drone, this is valuable advice. Driving an expensive car can help with a certain type of women (the infamous “gold-diggers”), but it’s only important if you don’t have game. In addition, Roosh explains that even if you only have average looks, you can go far simply by putting yourself out there and by approaching often.
Another interesting piece of advice which Roosh calls the Richard Feynmann rule: “If you wait long enough in a bar, then something will happen”. This is good advice for those nights when you go to a bar, and feel like leaving again after 5 minutes. Stick it out. Lastly, he writes about his fear of being scammed wherever he goes, e.g. by taxi drivers. “See if there is tension in his face”, Roosh would say, “it means he’s trying to complete the transaction as quickly as possible”.
Roosh visits Peru
In Peru, Roosh philosophizes with the other gringos about Latin American women. For example, there was Keane, who claimed that Buenos Aires had “the best looking women”, while Cuzco had “the easiest”. Furthermore, a few paragraphs are dedicated to his hesitance of visiting Machu Pichu, since he considers it merely a hyped-up tourist destination. Many Peruvian travelers would agree and insist that there are better sights to see in Peru than Machu Pichu. At this point, Roosh also gets serious stomach problems. He ends up going from doctor to doctor, but nothing helps. Roosh’s writing style keeps you interested in finishing the book since he writes in a very honest and authentic way. But in hindsight, for about one half of the book, he wrote a lot of shit. I mean this both literally and figuratively (after all, it was his first book).
In Cusco, Roosh decides to change his traveling style. He commits to only go to a city if it has something he wants to see or experience, and only stay longer if he is having a great time.
Passing Through Bolivia
After this change of heart, he heads to Puno, but only stays for one night. And the next day, a short visit to Copacabana. After this, ironically, he skips La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, to go to Potosi instead. Since this isn’t only a seduction guide, he takes time to explain the hardships of the mining industry in this Bolivian town. Along with rekindling fond memories about the Uyuni salt flats.
Argentinian Adventure
Next stop Salta, Argentina. Here his favorite tried and tested opening line was “Hola, Habla Ingles?” (Hello, do you speak English?). Instead of being tempted to steal this line, let it rather remind you that you can say almost anything as an opening line. Moreover, Roosh explains that “Hola Habla Ingles” works better on larger groups of girls where there is a chance that at least one of them would speak English. An encounter that stood out in this chapter is Roosh trying to find a per hour love motel to have sex with an intoxicated ‘gringa’ he picked up in a hostel. In a humorous way, nothing goes right for Roosh and he goes home with the girl semi-passed out – tired and drunk. No sex occurred. After Salta, he spends time in Chile but wasn’t impressed. So he headed to Mendoza.
In Mendoza, he wasted no time trying to pick up girls at the pool table, with his typical cocky style of flirting. He describes building enormous amounts of sexual tension with a girl while playing pool, but then striking out by getting her email address. This is why this is the Roosh V Prequel. Any decent seducer would go for at least a make-out instead of an email address. But, Roosh was still learning game. We’ve all been there (if you consider yourself to be advanced)… It’s a phase he had to move through to get to Roosh version 2.0 towards the end of the book.
Next, he explains his simplistic texting style. For example, his opening text is “Hey it’s Roosh. How are you?”. Moreover, there was his Mendoza wing-man’s cocky pickup line. Telling girls he’s flirting with “It looks like you need to get laid”, while also friendly touching her. Furthermore, he details his strategy to move girls away from their friends. Tell her you’re going to the bar to get a drink and ask her if she’d like to come along. If the attraction is mutual, she’ll agree and follow you to the bar.
After Mendoza, Roosh headed to Cordoba. He has a lot of good things to say about this city. Reminiscing fervently about playing the numbers game aggressively. Cordoba was Roosh’s turning point. He feels it’s because he took the time to make friends and find a nightlife niche. Apart from the enjoyable encounters with females, there was also the unfortunate incident where almost everybody in Roosh’s dorm got robbed. The most obvious thief being the most popular guy in the hostel, but because he was perceived as cool, everyone was afraid to blame him for the crime. Meanwhile, Roosh was busy formulating strategies for the local girls. For example: Never comment on their beauty, have an aloof vibe, and tell her you thought Argentina girls are weird. Add any random tease, for example, “Is it possible to volumize your hair more because it looks so thin and flat?”.
Roosh ended up going to Patagonia and realized how much more he enjoyed human connections instead of sight-seeing. He didn’t like Buenos Aires and instead headed to Uruguay and Paraguay. This is where Roosh meets the ladies man, Beppe… Beppe was unconventional. When the water sprayers came on, everyone else would run away. But Beppe would grab the girl, and go gamboling in the water stream as if they were still kids. He emanated energy, the women were very attracted to him and he was undeniably the most fun guy around.
Paraguay (& The Rio Ending Spoiler)
In Paraguay, with a huge anti-climax, the reader finds out why the book is titled “a dead bat in Paraguay”. Let me not spoil it for you.
In Rio, Roosh divulges his pulling strategy. Don’t over-complicate, simply say “let’s go” and take her home. He fondly recalls his successes during that period of time, including getting particularly close to one girl. In the final section of the book, he revisits Rio. Meets with the girl again. Initially, she protests “friends only”. But Roosh has 2 years more experience now. He plows ahead until the girl rediscovers her feelings for him. And he pulls off the greatest pull of this book in its final pages. Well done Roosh.
My Rating: Roosh V – A Dead Bat In Paraguay
The Readability is good and the writing flows very well. The book isn’t boring and you can read many pages in one session. It’s not expensive either. Moreover, you can learn about traveling in South America from Roosh. The technical info quality relating to seduction and travel isn’t that great. But Roosh makes up for this through his authentic style of writing. Detailing his failures as much as his successes.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Buy Roosh V’s Dead Bat in Paraguay today at a really low Special Kindle Price at Amazon.
