No sooner does he get to know Ricardo Laverde than disaffected young Colombian lawyer Antonio Yammara realises that his new friend has a secret, or rather several secrets. Antonio's fascination with the life of ex-pilot Ricardo Laverde begins by casual acquaintance in a seedy Bogotá billiard hall and grows until the day Ricardo receives a cassette tape in an unmarked envelope. Asking Antonio to find him somewhere private to play it, they go to a library. The first time he glances up from his seat in the next booth, Antonio sees tears running down Laverde's cheeks; the next, the ex-pilot has gone.
Shortly afterwards, Ricardo is shot dead on a street corner in Bogotá by a guy on the back of a motorbike and Antonio is caught in the hail of bullets. Lucky to survive, and more out of love with life than ever, he starts asking questions until the questions become an obsession that leads him to Laverde's daughter. His troubled investigation leads all the way back to the early 1960s, marijuana smuggling and a time before the cocaine trade trapped a whole generation of Colombians in a living nightmare of fear and random death.
Juan Gabriel Vasquez is one of the leading novelists of his generation, and The Sound of Things Falling that tackles what became of Colombia in the time of Pablo Escobar is his best book to date.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
A powerful, humane novel about a man trying to make sense of a war he didn't choose to fight (Kate Saunders, The 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 piece of Latin American literary noir that lays bare the costs of the drug trade ... In a return to the thriller form of Vásquez's superb The Informers ... A heartfelt account of the drama suffered by a generation ... Vásquez offers no polemic. Yet as debates on the legalisation of drugs remain weighted towards suffering in consumer countries, this novel affords a rare understanding of the inhuman cost on the other side (Maya Jaggi, Guardian)
The Sound of Things Falling has a strikingly idiosyncratic tone: wistful, elegiac almost, but not at all sentimental ... beautifully written (Irish Times)
Enigmatic (Boyd Tonkin, Independent Books of the Year)
The work reads beautifully. Vasquez's persistence in exploring the darker corners of his country's history, in probing his characters' intractable duality, and in questioning the frailties of memory, is compounded by his skill in evoking those instances when things change forever: such as when the telephone rings
(Independent)The dark, brilliant new novel by the author of The Informers and The Secret History of Costaguana.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 16.02
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP77473801
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR007762454
Quantity: 3 available
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR004705059
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: WeBuyBooks, Rossendale, LANCS, United Kingdom
Condition: Good. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. Foxing to the pages. Seller Inventory # wbb0024616404
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, United Kingdom
Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP77473801
Quantity: 3 available
Seller: medimops, Berlin, Germany
Condition: very good. Gut/Very good: Buch bzw. Schutzumschlag mit wenigen Gebrauchsspuren an Einband, Schutzumschlag oder Seiten. / Describes a book or dust jacket that does show some signs of wear on either the binding, dust jacket or pages. Seller Inventory # M01408825791-V
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Rob Warren Books, Richmond, VA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. A fine unread copy in a fine dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 006919
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Melanie Nelson Books, Livingston, NY, NY, U.S.A.
Hardcovers. Condition: Very Good. -----------Black cloth with large bright silver spine lettering, book is 9 1/2" tall.- - - VERY GOOD CONDITION, tight solid bright fresh clean- - with small name sticker and name of former owner and note to return book-- all written on flyleaf- - - dust jacket Fine Condition, with original UK price on dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 052036
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Orbiting Books, Hereford, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Appears unread, may have minor superficial marking. Next day dispatch from the UK (Mon-Fri). Please contact us with any queries. Seller Inventory # mon0000652618
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Signature Firsts, Brecon, POWYS, United Kingdom
Hardback. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Very good first printing in very good dustwrapper. An ex-library copy that has never been read. Library labels to front free end paper, dedication page and rear paste down. Otherwise a clean and tight copy. Signed, dated & located by the author to the title page, without inscription - Hay-on-Wye 29.v.2016. An affordable copy of the 2014 IMPAC Award Winner. As an enthusiastic collector myself I make every effort to provide a high level of service. Enquiries welcomed. Paypal accepted. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 006528
Quantity: 1 available