Return to the Dark Valley (Europa Editions)
Return to the Dark Valley travels between European cities scarred by terrorism that have turned increasingly xenophobic and Latin American landscapes that carry their own sense of danger enveloped in “new world” promise.
Gamboa has populated his dark valley with an enigmatic and enchanting chorus of characters. There is Manuela Beltrán, 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 finally Juana and the consul, central characters in Gamboa’s Night Prayers, who are united in a relationship based equally on hurt and need.
Written in the sparkling prose and with the masterful suspense that have made Santiago Gamboa an international literary sensation, Return to the Dark Valley is a richly imagined portrait of a turbulent world where liberation is found in perpetual movement and determined exploration.
Praise for Santiago Gamboa
“[Return to the Dark Valley] imagines—with a sharp and at times dark sense of humor—a new Colombia that welcomes its children, scattered across the world, with advertising promises... You must read Gamboa.”—El País
“Each novel by Santiago Gamboa is at the forefront of the best Latin American novels. He dismantles the legacy of Chandler and Hammett, adapting it to the craggy environs of Colombia, and adds to it a tireless sense of ethics.”—Martín Solares, author of The Black Minutes
“Gamboa’s talent at cultivating intrigue and the extravagant energy of his stories make him compulsive reading.”—Times Literary Supplement
“Brilliantly translated, Night Prayers is an incredible reading experience with a pounding heart and wisdom to boot.”—Mark Haber, Brazos Bookstore
“Gamboa’s work calls to mind Roberto Bolaño in its masterful suspense, complex literary references, and frank depiction of violence, sex, and drugs.”—Publishers Weekly
“I am in love with Night Prayers by Santiago Gamboa. The writing is exceptional, and the plot will leave you guessing till the very end.”—Patricia Engel, author of The Veins of the Ocean and
Novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Santiago Gamboa was born in Colombia in 1965. His American debut, published by Europa in 2012, was the novel Necropolis, winner of the Otra Orilla Literary Prize. He is also the author of Night Prayers (Europa, 2016).
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