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SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 PEN TRANSLATION PRIZELONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 QUEEN SOFIA SPANISH INSTITUTE TRANSLATION PRIZEI was alone when someone pounded on my door. Who could it be?So begins
Toño the Infallible, Evelio Rosero's gripping novel about an intense relationship between a writer and a sociopath. Visited by his friend (a kind of Colombian Rasputin) seemingly at the verge of death, the writer, Eri, looks back on the arc of both of their lives. Unique in both its tone and its structure, the novel takes us from their student days (school fights, playground revelations, and an unforgettable trip to the seaside) into their adult years, involving rumors of a hippie cult and a bizarre raucous theater exhibit of history's most violent crimes. Toño uses his charm and wealth-as well as reputed magical powers-to manipulate others, but it isn't until the end of the book that the devastating truth is revealed-and how true is it? Reminiscent of the fiction of Roberto Bolaño and the films of Alfonso Cuarón, this brilliant novel takes us into the heart of his country's darkness, creating an unforgettable portrait of a society where humanity still endures, despite its brutality.
About the author
Evelio Rosero was born in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1958. He was awarded Colombia's National Literature Prize by the Ministry of Culture in 2006 for his body of work, which includes several novels, short story collections, and books for young readers and children.
The Armies, Rosero's first novel to be translated into English, won the Tusquets International Prize and the 2009 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.
