The Sound of Things Falling
Tags:
Set in Colombia
Male author
Description:
* National Bestseller and Dublin Literary Award winner * Hailed by Edmund White as "a brilliant new novel" on the cover of the New York Times Book Review * Lauded by Jonathan Franzen, E. L. Doctorow and many others An intimate portrayal of the drug wars in Colombia, from international fiction star Juan Gabriel Vasquez. Juan Gabriel Vásquez 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, Vásquez confronts the history of his home country, Colombia. In the city of Bogotá, 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 Medellín 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. Vásquez 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.
Reviews:
(6 months ago) |
22 Mar, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed, with a strong feeling personal relatability. The story moved at a good pace, with effective use of memory/flashback scenes. I also really liked how factual events were woven into the story.
I also enjoyed the author‘s description (through the character of Elena) of Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude):
… The only thing I have here is a book the señor gave me as a going away present, and I’ve tried to read it, I swear I’ve tried, but the Spanish is very difficult and everybody has the same name. It’s the most tedious thing I’ve read in a long time…
I couldn’t agree more.
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Challenge:
Read Around South America Challenge
Country:
Colombia
Colombia
Language:
EN
Genre:
Historical fiction
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