Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
La exotica fuga y posterior caza de un hipopotamo, ultimo vestigio del imposible zoologico con el que Pablo Escobar exhibia su poder, es la chispa que arranca los mecanismos de la memoria de Antonio Yammara, protagonista y narrador de El ruido de las cosas al caer, un negro balance de una epoca de terror y violencia, en una Bogota descrita como un territorio literario lleno de significaciones.
En 1995, Antonio conoce al intrigante Ricardo Laverde, quien ha pasado veinte anos en la carcel. Laverde, de quien se sabe que fue piloto, forma parte de la parroquia de unos billares donde Yammara, joven profesor universitario de Derecho, consume el ocio de su ultima juventud. Entre los dos se fraguara una estrecha amistad, y Antonio, que pasa por la vida desdibujado por la duda, creera ver en la experiencia torturada de su amigo un aviso.
Antonio intentara comprender a la generacion de Laverde (la de sus padres, en definitiva, con sus historias de amor), para valorar el grado de inocencia y de complicidad que les corresponde en la creacion de un clima social dominado por la corrupcion, el caos y la violencia. El filtro de la memoria permite realizar un recorrido palpitante por la historia reciente de Colombia, recuperando a personajes atractivos y complejos.
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
The exotic escape and subsequent capture of a hippopotamus--the final remnant of the incongruous zoo Pablo Escobar used to flaunt his power--is the spark that activates the mechanisms of Antonio Yammara's memory, protagonist and narrator of El ruido de las cosas al caer--a dark balance from a time of terror and violence, set in a Bogota painted as a region full of literary significance.
In 1995, Antonio meets the intriguing Ricardo Laverde, a man who has served a 20-year sentence. Laverde, an acknowledged pilot, is part of the group that gathers at the pool hall where Yammara, a young university Law professor, burns what is left of his youth. The two men become fast friends, to the point where Antonio, whose life has always been full of doubts, affirms that a warning hides within his friend's tortuous experience.
Antonio will try to understand Laverde's generation (which is also his parent's, with all its love stories), to evaluate their share of innocence and complicity in the creation of a society dominated by corruption, chaos and violence. Yammara's memory takes us on a vibrant journey through Colombia's recent history, bringing back attractive and complex characters.
Synopsis
Una novela llena de suspense y la perfecta radiograf a de una generaci n atrapada en el miedo.
Novela ganadora del English Pen Award 2012, del Premio Gregor von Rezzori-Citt di Firenze 2013 y del IMPAC International Dublin Literary Award 2014.
Premio Alfaguara de Novela 2011.
Tan pronto conoce a Ricardo Laverde, el joven Antonio Yammara comprende que en el pasado de su nuevo amigo hay un secreto, o quiz varios. Su atracci n por la misteriosa vida de Laverde, nacida al hilo de sus encuentros en un billar, se transforma en verdadera obsesi n el d a en que ste es asesinado.
Convencido de que resolver el enigma le se alar un camino en su encrucijada vital, Yammara emprende una investigaci n que se remonta a los primeros a os setenta, cuando una generaci n de j venes idealistas fue testigo del nacimiento de un negocio que acabar a por llevar a Colombia - y al mundo - al borde del abismo. A os despu s, la ex tica fuga de un hipop tamo, ltimo vestigio del imposible zool gico con el que Pablo Escobar exhib a su poder, es la chispa que lleva a Yammara a contar su historia y la de Ricardo Laverde, tratando de averiguar c mo el negocio del narcotr fico marc la vida privada de quienes nacieron con l.
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
An intimate portrayal of the drug wars in Colombia, from international fiction star Juan Gabriel Vasquez.
Juan Gabriel V squez has been hailed not only as one of South America's greatest literary stars, but also as one of the most acclaimed writers of his generation. In this New York Times-bestselling, award-winning, gorgeously wrought novel, V squez confronts the history of his home country, Colombia.In the city of Bogot , Antonio Yammara reads an article about a hippo that had escaped from a derelict zoo once owned by legendary Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. The article transports Antonio back to when the war between Escobar's Medell n cartel and government forces played out violently in Colombia's streets and in the skies above. Back then, Antonio witnessed a friend's murder, an event that haunts him still. As he investigates, he discovers the many ways in which his own life and his friend's family have been shaped by his country's recent violent past. His journey leads him all the way back to the 1960s and a world on the brink of change: a time before narco-trafficking trapped a whole generation in a living nightmare.
V squez is "one of the most original new voices of Latin American literature," according to Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa, and The Sound of Things Falling is his most personal, most contemporary novel to date, a masterpiece that takes his writing--and his literary star--even higher.