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Book SynopsisWinner of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardWinner of the Alfaguara PrizeWinner of the Gregor von Rezzori Prize''A powerful, humane novel about a man trying to make sense of a war he didn't choose to fight'' The Times''The story is compelling but through Vásquez's vivid prose (rendered brilliantly into English by the award-winning translator Anne McLean) it also becomes haunting A poignant and perturbing tale about the inheritance of fear in a country scrabbling to regain its soul'' Financial TimesNo sooner does he get to know Ricardo Laverde in a seedy billiard hall in Bogotá 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 befor
Trade ReviewA powerful, humane novel about a man trying to make sense of a war he didn’t choose to fight *
Kate Saunders, The Times *
The story is compelling but through Vásquez’s vivid prose (rendered brilliantly into English by the award-winning translator Anne McLean) it also becomes haunting … A poignant and perturbing tale about the inheritance of fear in a country scrabbling to regain its soul *
Financial Times *
Compelling ... He holds his narrative together with admirable stylistic control as he shows a world falling apart and the powers of love and language to rebuild it *
Anita Sethi, Observer *
A compelling and original psychological thriller *
Daily Telegraph *
Excellent ... Vasquez follows Balzac's maxim that "novels are the private history of nations" -- Alastair Smart * Sunday Telegraph *
A gripping novel, absorbing right to the end * Edmund White, New York Times Book Review *
The narrative escalates, the mystery deepens, and the scope of the story widens with each page. This terrific novel draws on Colombia’s tragic history and cycles of violence to tell the story of a troubled man trying to come to grips with the distant forces and events that have shaped his life * Khaled Hosseini, Books of the Year 2013 *
