 Luisa Valenzuela 's The Lizard 's Tail ( Cola de <unk> , 1983 ) is set in the period after Juan Perón 's return to Argentina in 1973 , when the Argentine president was heavily influenced by the sinister <unk> grise José López Rega . The novel deals specifically with themes surrounding the nature of male @-@ female relationships during this regime of military oppression . The novel 's title is a reference to an instrument of torture that was invented in the Southern Cone . 
