Santiago Gamboa

The newest novel from one of Colombia's most distinguished and beloved writers is a gripping thriller about corruption deep within the foundations of the Churches in Latin America. When a horribly violent confrontation occurs outside of Cauca, Colombia, only a young boy is around to witness it. But no sooner does the violence happen than it disappears, vanished without a trace. Nobody claims to have seen anything. Nobody claims to have heard anything. That is, until an anonymous accusation catalyzes a dangerous investigation into the deep underbelly of the Christian churches present today in Latin America. The Night Will Be Long is a dark, twisting thriller filled with moments of humor and pain--a story that will stick with readers long after they turn the last page.

The Night Will Be Long

A Colombian philosophy student is arrested in Bangkok, accused of drug trafficking. He risks the death penalty and longs for his distant sister Juana. During their childhood, Juana promised to do everything to protect him from the drug- and violence-infested streets of Bogota. But when things spun out of control she was forced to flee, leaving her brother behind. Their story reaches the ears of the Colombian consul general in New Delhi, who takes it upon himself to reunite the two siblings--a feat that may be beyond his power.

Night Prayers

Gritty Central and South American lives from an underground Colombian literary voice. Santiago Gamboa is one of Colombia's most exciting young writers. In the manner of Roberto Bola�o, Gamboa infuses his kaleidoscopic, cosmopolitan stories with a dose of inky dark noir that makes his novels intensely readable, his characters unforgettable, and his style influential. Manuela Beltr�n, a woman haunted by a troubled childhood she tries to escape through books and poetry; Tertuliano, an Argentine preacher who claims to be the Pope's son, ready to resort to extreme methods to create a harmonious society; Ferdinand Palacios, a Colombian priest with a dark paramilitary past now confronted with his guilt; Rimbaud, the precocious, brilliant poet whose life was incessant exploration; and, Juana and the consul, central characters in Gamboa'sNight Prayers, who are united in a relationship based equally on hurt and need. These characters animate Gamboa's richly imagined portrait of a hostile, turbulent world where liberation is found in perpetual movement and determined exploration.

Return to the Dark Valley

Investigating a mysterious firefight in Colombia leads a journalist into a world of corrupt churches in this gripping thriller by the author of Necropolis. When a horribly violent confrontation occurs outside of Cauca, Colombia, only a young boy is around to witness it. But no sooner does the violence happen than it disappears, vanished without a trace. Nobody claims to have seen anything. Nobody claims to have heard anything. That is, until an anonymous accusation catalyzes a dangerous investigation into the deep underbelly of the Christian churches present today in Latin America. The Night Will Be Long is a dark, twisting thriller filled with moments of humor and pain—a story that will stick with readers long after they turn the last page. Praise for The Night Will Be Long “This intelligent police procedural from Gamboa . . . refracts decades of turbulent Colombian history through the experiences of dramatically drawn characters. . . . a colorful story with solid grounding in historical detail.” —Publishers Weekly “For my money, there may be no more ambitious, accomplished writer than Gamboa at work in international noir today. Gamboa brings a searching, penetrating style to the prose and unwinds a genuinely compelling and provocative story that interrogates the very nature of violence and truth.” —Crime Reads “An engrossing thriller set in a modern-day Colombia haunted by the legacy of decades of armed conflict. . . . Gamboa has crafted an effective thriller that thrives on his empathetic imagination.” —Shelf Awareness

El protagonista de la Odisea, al cual alude el título de este libro, deambuló durante diez años antes de poder volver a su hogar. Este sentimiento de desesperada añoranza por la tierra natal, la cuna de los afectos y de la propia historia, es la emoción que consume al protagonista de esta novela apasionante. Se trata de un escritor joven que ha recorrido diversos países de Asia y África desempeñando los oficios más humildes para lograr sobrevivir. Entretanto, transita por los reductos miserables donde se hacinan otros inmigrantes como él, quienes a pesar de las diferencias de idioma y origen están hermanados por el mismo sentimiento: todos han sido condenados a padecer el síndrome de Ulises, la añoranza dolorosa e imposible de la tierra que algún día los vio nacer.

El síndrome de Ulises

Un escritor es invitado a un congreso de biógrafos en la ciudad de Jerusalén, metáfora de una urbe sitiada por la guerra, a punto de sucumbir. La narración de las vidas de los participantes al congreso sorprende al protagonista. Tal es el caso del librero y biógrafo francés Edgar Miret Supervielle, de la actriz porno italiana Sabina Vedovelli, del empresario colombiano Moisés Kaplan y, sobre todo, de José Maturana, un ex pastor evangélico, ex convicto y ex drogadicto que, con el poderoso lenguaje de las calles más sórdidas, narra el periplo de su salvador, un carismático mesías latino en Miami.

Necrópolis

An author attends a conference featuring a series of extraordinary life stories, where the story of formerly troubled evangelical pastor Josâe Maturana captures his imagination and causes him to seek answers when Maturana is later found dead.

Necropolis

Vida feliz de un joven llamado Esteban (Ficcionario)

Jorge Franco

Antologia De Nuevos Narradores Colombianos

Cuentos Canibales/cannibalistic Stories

Autor colombiano Gamboa (Pg̀inas de Vuelta), que ha trabajado como periodista de la radio francesa, un editor para el perid̤ico colombiano El Tiempo, y columnista de la revista colombiana Cromos, aqu ̕ofrece la biografa̕ ficticia de un personaje llamado Esteban Hinestroza. Porque Esteban creci ̤durante Colombia ms̀ veces polt̕icamente explosivo, que cabra̕ esperar para leer sobre una vida llena de violencia. En lugar de ello, el autor aprovecha la ocasin̤ para mostrar otra cara de Colombia. Esteban describe todos los da̕s las personas con problemas de la vida diaria, sobre el amor de Toǫ tribulaciones, Cory conflictos de celos, y el espaǫl revolucionario cuentos del padre Gerardo. Si bien la descripcin̤ teje en eventos como el asesinato del candidato presidencial Jorge Eličer Gaitǹ y los disturbios iniciados por grupos de izquierda y liberales dentro de las universidades de Colombia, que se concentra en los recuerdos de una infancia feliz y la gente alrededor de ľ, lo que demuestra que la vida puede haber sido Influenciado por los conflictos polt̕icos, pero no fueron determinadas.

Vida feliz de un joven llamado Esteban

"Lo que mejor define a esta república violenta y desamparada es la orfandad. Y lo que cada uno es, allá en el subsuelo, es lo que todos quieren esconder" En un hallazgo inesperado, unos huesos humanos son descubiertos en las montañas de La Calera, al orientede Bogotá. El fiscal Edilson Jutsiñamuy tendrá la misión de encontrar a su propietario, de la mano del agente Laiseca y el resto de su equipo. Julieta Lezama, su amiga periodista, se sumará a la investigación para ir desentrañando una cadena de crímenes atroces que la llevarán a conocer al escritor Santiago Gamboa y su obra, donde dará con una clave fundamental para entender el misterio de aquel inquietante descubrimiento. El sagaz e intuitivo Jutsiñamuy y la intrépida pero atribulada Lezama regresan en una historia vertiginosa llena de personajes singulares, entre los que destacan un profesor indigenista que practica el poliamor y un enigmático mercenario argentino. Colombian Psycho es una fascinante trama de espejos entre la realidad y la ficción, pero también entre las propias ficciones del autor, quien se juega la vida en esta perturbadora radiografía de la realidad nacional. "El talento de Gamboa para cultivar la intriga y la extravagante energía de sus historias hacen que su lectura sea compulsiva". Times Literary Supplement

Colombian Psycho

WINNER of the 2009 La Otra Orilla Literary Award Upon recovering from a prolonged illness, an author is invited to a literary gathering in Jerusalem that turns out to be a most unusual affair. In the conference rooms of a luxury hotel, as bombs fall outside, at times too close for comfort, he listens to a series of extraordinary life stories: the saga of a chess-playing duo, the tale of an Italian porn star with a socialist agenda, the drama of a Colombian industrialist who has been waging a longstanding battle with local paramilitaries, and many more. But it is José Maturana—evangelical pastor, recovering drug addict, ex-con—with his story of redemption at the hands of a charismatic tattooed messiah from Miami, Florida, who fascinates the author more than any other. Maturana’s language is potent and vital, and his story captivating. Hours after his stirring presentation to a rapt audience, however, Maturana is found dead in his hotel room. At first it seems likely that Maturana has taken his own life and everybody seems willing to accept this version of the story. But there are a few loose ends that don’t support the suicide hypothesis, and the author-invitee, moved by Maturana’s life story to discover the truth about his death, will lead an investigation that turns the entire plot of this chimerical novel on its end. In Necropolis, Santiago Gamboa displays the talent and inventiveness that have earned him a reputation as one of the leading figures in his generation of Latin American authors. "Each novel by Santiago Gamboa is at the forefront of the best Latin American novels. Gamboa dismantles the legacy of Chandler and Hammett, adapting it to the craggy environs of Colombia, and adds to it a tireless sense of ethics. His novels revitalize a genre that we thought could do no more."—Martín Solares, author of Cloralex Planet and The Black Minutes “Santiago Gamboa and García Márquez are the two most important Colombian writers.” —Manuel Vázquez Montalbán

"Ciudad Presidio es una clara demostración de que el derecho a la lectura y la escritura es, ante todo, pura potencia de afirmación de la vida, puro combate cuerpo a cuerpo contra la muerte". Mario Mendoza Este es el libro más personal de Santiago Gamboa. Escrito durante casi tres años, contiene una serie de reflexiones honestas y cautivantes en las que el autor revela aspectos de su vida y su oficio, sus lecturas y su biblioteca, así como algunas de sus opiniones más lúcidas sobre arte, literatura y la realidad del país. En el centro de todo aparecen dos preguntas: ¿qué es escribir?, y, fundamentalmente, ¿por qué se escribe? Para tratar de responder a ello, Gamboa nos embarca en un recorrido fascinante por las ciudades en las que ha vivido, como París, Bogotá, Delhi, Madrid o Roma, y por muchas otras como Washington, Ciudad de México o Seúl; por hoteles y bares legendarios -como el hotel Ambos Mundos de La Habana, que Hemingway solía frecuentar-, y por la obra de algunos de los autores que lo han acompañado a lo largo de su trayectoria -Michel Houellebecq, Paul Bowles, Roberto Bolaño, Arthur Rimbaud, Marguerite Duras, Juan Goytisolo, Karen Blixen y Virginia Woolf, entre otros-. De este viaje literario, íntimo, por momentos confesional, salimos con la certeza de que la palabra será siempre un refugio, y el impulso creador, un modo de supervivencia. La crítica ha dicho: "El talento de Gamboa para cultivar la intriga y la extravagante energía de sus historias hacen que su lectura sea compulsiva". Times Literary Supplement "Su obra mezcla la poesía con una violencia extraordinariamente cruda y una ironía extraordinariamente ácida. [...] Lo que más me gusta de sus novelas es la mezcla de géneros y estilos". Pierre Lemaitre Sobre Colombian Psycho: "Esta es la historia de un país donde las víctimas se acaban convirtiendo en victimarios. Y duele". Pilar Manzanares, Esquire "Gamboa nos muestra un fresco de la violencia de su país, machacado por décadas de guerra y con muchas heridas abiertas. [...] Un envite literario de primer orden en una novela con un poderoso lenguaje". Juan Carlos Galindo, El País Sobre Perder es cuestión de método: "El acierto de Gamboa es haber contado este relato amargo mediante una trama apasionante y un tono narrativo lleno de humor que roza hábilmente lo grotesco. Los diálogos son trepidantes. Los personajes gozan de auténtico estatuto de seres vivientes". José Manuel Fajardo, El Mundo

Cosas para hacer en la tarde, antes del fin del mundo

Ciudad Presidio

A Colombian philosophy student is arrested in Bangkok and accused of drug trafficking. Unless he enters a guilty plea he will almost certainly be sentenced to death. But it's a tender longing for his sister, Juana, whom he hasn’t seen for years, that weighs most heavily on Manuel. Before he dies he wants nothing more than to be reunited with her. As a boy, Manuel was a dreamer, a lover of literature, and a graffiti artist. Juana made a promise to do everything in her power to protect him from the drug- and violence- infested streets of Bogota. She decided to take him as far from Colombia as possible, and in order to raise the money to do so, she went to work as a high-priced escort and entered into contact with the dangerous world of corrupt politicians. When things spun out of control she was forced to flee, leaving her beloved brother behind. Juana and Manuel’s story reaches the ears of the Colombian consul general in New Delhi, and he tracks down Juana, now married to a rich Japanese man, in Tokyo. The consul general takes it upon himself to reunite the two siblings. A feat that may be beyond his power. Fans of both Roberto Bolan~o and Gabriel Garci ́a Ma ́rquez will find much to admire in this story about the mean streets of Bogota ́, the sordid bordellos of Thailand, and a love between siblings that knows no end. With the stylishness that has earned him a reputation as one of “the most important Colombian writers” (Manuel Va ́zquez Montalba ́n), Santiago Gamboa lends his story a driving, irresistible rhythm. ==Praise for Santiago Gamboa== “Gamboa’s strength is an apparently inexhaustible stream of narrative invention, an addictive ‘and then, and then’ quality that, at its best, erupts into flourishes of breathtaking poetry.”—Shelf Awareness “Each novel by Santiago Gamboa is at the forefront of the best Latin American novels. Gamboa dismantles the legacy of Chandler and Hammett, adapting it to the craggy environs of Colombia, and adds to it a tireless sense of ethi. His novels revitalize a genre that we thought could do no more.”—Marti ́n Solares, author of The Black Minutes

“Fans of Roberto Bolaño will feel right at home in this globetrotting tale of misfit poets and ultraviolent drug lords . . . A page turner” (Miami Rail). Manuela is a woman haunted by a troubled childhood that she tries to escape through books and poetry. Tertullian is an Argentine preacher who claims to be the Pope’s son, ready to resort to extreme methods to create a harmonious society. Ferdinand Palacios is a Colombian priest with a dark paramilitary past, now confronted with his guilt. Rimbaud was the precocious, brilliant poet whose life was incessant exploration. Along with Juana and the consul, these are the central characters in Santiago Gamboa’s “complex, challenging story that speaks to the terror and dislocation of the age” (Kirkus Reviews). “Action-packed plotting . . . examines the movement of people across the shifting geopolitical landscape, the impossibility of returning and the potential redemptive power of poetry.” —The New York Times Book Review “An unsettling and brilliant document of contemporary life; highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review) “Gamboa possesses considerable talent at creating energetic scenes that spiral off in intriguing directions.” —San Francisco Chronicle

Gabriel García Márquez

Crónica de una muerte anunciada

Plegarias nocturnas es una novela negra. Plegarias nocturnas es una historia de amor. Manuel, un estudiante de filosofía colombiano, es acusado de tráfico de drogas y retenido en una cárcel en Bangkok. La ley tailandesa es clara en estos casos: la pena para los traficantes es la muerte. El cónsul colombiano en Nueva Delhi es el encargado de comunicar al reo sus opciones e intentar cumplir el único deseo que parece albergar: encontrar a su hermana Juana, desaparecida en Colombia años antes. El cónsul la encuentra, y Juana relata el auge del paramilitarismo durante el mandato de Uribe, el drama de los desaparecidos, y el origen de su rabia y su férrea determinación de hacer que las cosas cambien. La epopeya de Juana por conseguir un nuevo futuro la lleva de un lado al otro, de Tokio a Teherán y de la prostitución al matrimonio. Tras sus huidizos pero firmes pasos camina primero su hermano Manuel y después el cónsul, en un intento de restablecer la justicia, aunque a veces sea demasiado tarde.

Plegarias nocturnas

Uno studente di filosofia colombiano, Manuel, viene arrestato a Bangkok con l'accusa di traffico di droga: se non si dichiara colpevole rischia la pena di morte. Ma la sua preoccupazione più grande è rivedere la sorella scomparsa anni prima, Juana, a cui è legato da un amore esclusivo. Manuel è un sognatore, appassionato di letteratura e autore di graffiti, Juana una donna forte, decisa a fare qualsiasi cosa per proteggerlo e portarlo via da Bogotá, infestata di paramilitari e narcotrafficanti. È per questo che diventa una escort di lusso e si introduce negli ambienti dei politici corrotti per tramare vendette, ma quando le cose per lei si mettono male è costretta a lasciare il paese. La vicenda commuove il console colombiano a Nuova Delhi, che ritrova Juana a Tokyo, sposata con un ricco giapponese da cui ha avuto un figlio, e fa di tutto per riunire i due fratelli. È lui a raccogliere le loro sofferte testimonianze e a raccontare la loro malinconica storia. Con la consueta sapienza narrativa che fa di lui uno dei più apprezzati scrittori latinoamericani del nostro tempo, Santiago Gamboa impone un ritmo incalzante a questo romanzo a tre voci, mentre disegna un affresco inquietante di un mondo sordido che, dall'infinita guerra civile in Colombia al turismo sessuale in Thailandia, è afflitto dalla stessa endemica violenza.

Santiago Gamboa

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