Santiago Gamboa Books

Longlisted for the 2018 Best Translated Book Award Gritty Central and South American lives from an underground Colombian literary voice. Santiago Gamboa is one of Colombia's most exciting young writers. In the manner of Roberto Bola o, Gamboa infuses his kaleidoscopic, cosmopolitan stories with a dose of inky dark noir that makes his novels intensely readable, his characters unforgettable, and his style influential. Manuela Beltr n, a woman haunted by a troubled childhood she tries to escape through books and poetry; Tertuliano, an Argentine preacher who claims to be the Pope's son, ready to resort to extreme methods to create a harmonious society; Ferdinand Palacios, a Colombian priest with a dark paramilitary past now confronted with his guilt; Rimbaud, the precocious, brilliant poet whose life was incessant exploration; and, Juana and the consul, central characters in Gamboa's Night Prayers, who are united in a relationship based equally on hurt and need. These characters animate Gamboa's richly imagined portrait of a hostile, turbulent world where liberation is found in perpetual movement and determined exploration.

A Colombian philosophy student is arrested in Bangkok, accused of drug trafficking. He risks the death penalty and longs for his distant sister Juana. During their childhood, Juana promised to do everything to protect him from the drug- and violence-infested streets of Bogota. But when things spun out of control she was forced to flee, leaving her brother behind. Their story reaches the ears of the Colombian consul general in New Delhi, who takes it upon himself to reunite the two siblings--a feat that may be beyond his power.

An author attends a conference featuring a series of extraordinary life stories, where the story of formerly troubled evangelical pastor Jos Maturana captures his imagination and causes him to seek answers when Maturana is later found dead.

An addictive and nuanced narrative about conflict-rife Colombia

Der Polizeireporter Victor Silanpa ist ein melancholischer und schüchterner Mann, der nach dem Verlust seiner Freundin mit einer Schneiderpuppe spricht. Polizeihauptmann Moya kämpft mit seiner Süßigkeiten-Sucht und setzt Silanpa auf einen Fall von Grundstücksspekulation in Bogotá an, der Baulöwen und korrupte Politiker umfasst.

Esteban Hinestroza wächst in einem spannenden Milieu auf: Seine Eltern unterrichtet an der Kunstakademie in Medellin und bringen diskutierende und aufgebrachte Studenten mit nach Hause, die den Widerstand gegen die konservative Polizei proben. Abends entführt das Hausmädchen ihn in die Welt der südamerikanischen Lieder und Geschichten.§§Als Esteban mit seiner Familie nach Italien geht, wird ihm klar: die Mythen der Kindheit und Jugend, ob im Land der Guerilla oder im Land der Nutella, ähneln einander sehr ...

El capitán Moya avisa al periodista Víctor Silanpa que han encontrado un cadáver empalado. Nadie sabe de quién se trata. Silanpa, acompañado de su nuevo asistente, Emir Estupiñán, decide resolver el misterio que, poco a poco, transforma su vida en una peligrosa persecución por las bajas y altas esferas de Bogotá. Esta historia –ágil, alucinada y divertida– desnuda la tragicomedia que se vive día a día en las ciudades. Aquí todo horror es también carcajada y absurdo. Toda ley es personal y subjetiva. Todo castigo es venganza y la autoridad cambia de mano en mano como un revólver. Esta novela nos recuerda que en este mundo la justicia no sólo es ciega, también sorda y muda, y se vende al mejor postor. Perder es cuestión de método, la segunda novela de Santiago Gamboa, es una exhibición de talento y de humor negro, una muestra de que la tristeza y la comicidad son partes esenciales de la condición humana.