By the International Booker-shortlisted author - the extraordinary story of a life lived in the vortex of the twentieth century
Juan Gabriel Vásquez Book order
January 1, 1973
This author delves into complex subjects, exploring themes of identity, memory, and history within his works. His prose is recognized for its precision and depth, often engaging with the repercussions of the past on the present. Through carefully crafted characters and compelling narratives, he challenges the reader's perception of reality. His literary contributions are marked by thoughtful reflection on the human experience and its place in the world.
- 2022
- 2020
A dazzling collection of stories by the winner of the Dublin Literary Award (IMPAC)
- 2018
The most ambitious and rewarding novel to date by the acclaimed Colombian author
- 2016
Vasquez's prose, translated by Anne MacLean, is spare and effective, with a pleasing precision . A strong writer with a compelling vision Guardian
- 2013
Winner of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2014 Winner of the Alfaguara Prize 2011 Winner of the Gregor von Rezzori Prize 2013 No sooner does he get to know Ricardo Laverde in a seedy billiard hall in Bogot� than Antonio Yammara realises that the ex-pilot has a secret. Antonio's fascination with his new friend's life grows until the day Ricardo receives a mysterious, unmarked cassette. Shortly afterwards, he is shot dead on a street corner. Yammara's investigation into what happened leads back to the early 1960s, marijuana smuggling and a time before the cocaine trade trapped Colombia in a living nightmare.
- 2008
The Informers
- 347 pages
- 13 hours of reading
When Gabriel Santoro publishes his first book, A Life in Exile, it never occurs to him that his father, a distinguished professor of rhetoric, will write a devastating review in a national newspaper. The subject seems inoffensive enough: the life of a German Jewish woman (a close family friend) who arrived in Colombia shortly before the Second World War. So why does his father attack him so viciously? Do the pages of his book unwittingly hide some dangerous secret? As Gabriel sets out to discover what lies behind his father's anger, he finds himself undertaking an examination of the duplicity, guilt and obsession at the heart of Colombian society in World War II, when the introduction of blacklists of German immigrants corrupted and destroyed many lives. Half a century later, in a gripping narrative that unpacks like a set of Russian dolls, one treacherous act perpetrated in those dark days returns with a vengeance, leading the reader towards a literal, moral and metaphorical cliff edge. With a tightly honed plot, deftly crafted situations, and a cast of complex and varied characters, The Informers is a fascinating novel of callous betrayal, complicit secrecy and the long quest for redemption in a secular, cynical world. It heralds the arrival of a major literary talent.(front flap)
