The new cruel and poetic tale of Gary Victor

 

"Le sang et la mer", by Gary Victor

 

Herodiane grew all of a sudden. When her mother died, she left her native village with her brother Estevèl, who supports her passion for studies, and went to live in a slum of Port-au-Prince, called “Paradi”. Her plans and her brother’s are shaken by the arrival of Ivan in the life of the girl. He is the son of a wealthy family, he has light skin and blue eyes… he is necessarily the prince charming’s image Herodiane grew with. But prejudice and social fatalism suggests a tragic end when the girl becomes pregnant.

Mexico City, the “capital of the 21st century”?

"First stop in the new world", by David Lida

When I first saw this book, I was really intrigued by the title. David Lida called it “First stop in the New World, Mexico City: the capital of the 21st century”. It is not exactly what is generally said about Mexico City. But the author not only says this because he calls Mexico City “his hometown”, he also has some arguments…

“Goyo” Cardenas or the building of social figures

"Memorias de un loco anormal, el caso de Goyo Cardenas", by Andres Rios Molina

At first sight, it seems to be a surrealistic case. A serial killer who just got out from prison is received and applaused by all the members of Parliament. Thirty years before, he had strangled four young ladies and was known as one of the first serial killers of the modern era. He also escaped from prison before being rearrested. Gregorio “Goyo” Cardenas had become famous in Mexico in the Second World War years. His case had been followed day by day by the whole country. And the debate came back in the late 1970s when his lawyers asked for his release.

Uruguay in three generations

The invisible mountain, by Carolina de Robertis / Vintage Editions

The first novel of Carolina de Robertis begins as an elliptical fantasy tale. Immigrants arrive by sea and see a mountain on the coast. They found a city and and call it Montevideo (Monte-vid-eo: I see a mountain). Then, a few decades later, at the dawn of the twentieth century in the Uruguayan countryside, an Indian child is found at the top of a tree. She had been missing for weeks, given for dead and his father suspected of being the murderer.

Latin America today and tomorrow

El Insomnio de Bolìvar, Jorge Volpi / Debate

I already talked about Jorge Volpi. The questions he answered in a chat with the readers of El Pais were quite promising on the quality of his latest essay on Latin America, El insomnio de Bolivar (just in Spanish for the moment). This book has been awarded with the Prize of Debate Casa de América. I got it and was not disappointed. In a very clear way, the Mexican writer raises the question of Latin American identity nowadays.

“The uncertainty of who we are”

Luis Sepulveda / Daniel Mordzinski

In his latest book, Chilean author Luis Sepulveda stages three old men who try to revive their revolutionary past with an ultimate blow. I had the opportunity to interview him and I must confess it was a great moment for me.

Jorge Volpi enlightens debates

Jorge Volpi / DR

Reading Jorge Volpi is always a refined pleasure. The Mexican writer has a very lucid point of view on his contemporary world. How nice to listen to such a balanced intellectual, far from the political fights and so free in his mind. Jorge Volpi was invited by El Pais to chat with the readers of the Spanish newspaper. I translated some of his answers :

Discovering Pedro Juan Gutierrez

Pedro Juan Gutierrez / DR

Walking randomly by the radius “Books in Spanish” of a great Parisian bookstore, I discovered Pedro Juan Gutierrez. “Discovering” is a strange word for a 59-year-old author. But Pedro Juan Gutierrez lives in Havana, where he is censored, and this has probably prevented him from becoming one of the most famous authors of his generation. “Anclada en tierra de nadie” (“Marooned in No Man’s Land”) was his only book I found in that bookstore.

Ordinary violence

L'homme sans tête, Sergio Gonzalez Rodriguez / NR

A few words on the latest book of Sergio Gonzalez Rodriguez, The man without a head. A brilliant analysis of the wave of violence Mexico has known in the ultimate months. The Mexican author and journalist worked on the practice of decapitation and replaced it in a more general context. The entertainment society, the war between drug cartels in Mexico, the escalation of terror, old beliefs…