Latin American Literature in Translation

"Staggering . . . [A] compulsively readable story of a man's reckoning with a history of violence [and] an essential work of Peruvian literature." ―Publishers Weekly, starred review A seemingly ordinary man named Ángel sells kitchenware at a store in Lima. In the early 1990s, he had served as a soldier, engaging in brutal acts whose aftermath still reverberates. Now he is forced to reckon with his past when a woman he was instructed to kill enters the store and buys a few items. How can she still be alive? What's more, how can she not recognize Ángel? Remarkably, she asks him to deliver her purchases to her house. From this moment, Ángel feels compelled to make amends through any means necessary, even if it requires sacrificing his life of quiet retirement. A stirring tribute to the wounded souls who yearn to make peace with the past, The Wind Traveler offers a new vision of the fragile human connections that sustain a deeply fractured world. "A lyrical novel about loss and atonement . . . Cueto's scenes and descriptions are tactile and immediate, conveying subtext and deeper meaning." ―Foreword Reviews

"Staggering . . . [A] compulsively readable story of a man's reckoning with a history of violence [and] an essential work of Peruvian literature." ―Publishers Weekly, starred review A seemingly ordinary man named Ángel sells kitchenware at a store in Lima. In the early 1990s, he had served as a soldier, engaging in brutal acts whose aftermath still reverberates. Now he is forced to reckon with his past when a woman he was instructed to kill enters the store and buys a few items. How can she still be alive? What's more, how can she not recognize Ángel? Remarkably, she asks him to deliver her purchases to her house. From this moment, Ángel feels compelled to make amends through any means necessary, even if it requires sacrificing his life of quiet retirement. A stirring tribute to the wounded souls who yearn to make peace with the past, The Wind Traveler offers a new vision of the fragile human connections that sustain a deeply fractured world. "A lyrical novel about loss and atonement . . . Cueto's scenes and descriptions are tactile and immediate, conveying subtext and deeper meaning." ―Foreword Reviews

This prizewinning Guatemalan author's meta-novel delves into the secret police records and history of political violence in his homeland. In 2005, novelist Rodrigo Rey Rosa started visiting the Historical Archive of the Guatemala National Police, where millions of previously hidden records were being cataloged, bringing to light detailed evidence of crimes against humanity. In response, Rey Rosa crafted a meta-novel that weaves the language of arrest records and surveillance reports with the contemporary journal entries of a novelist (named Rodrigo) who is attempting to synthesize the stories of political activists, indigenous people, and others ensnared in a deadly web of state-sponsored terrorism. When Rodrigo's access to the archive is suspended, he proceeds to the General Archives of Central America and the Library of Congress, also collaborating with the son of the Identification Bureau's former head in a relentless pursuit of understanding. Human Matter is both a tour de force of fiction and a sobering meditation on the realities of collective memory, raising timely questions about how our history is recorded and retold.

This prizewinning Guatemalan author's meta-novel delves into the secret police records and history of political violence in his homeland. In 2005, novelist Rodrigo Rey Rosa started visiting the Historical Archive of the Guatemala National Police, where millions of previously hidden records were being cataloged, bringing to light detailed evidence of crimes against humanity. In response, Rey Rosa crafted a meta-novel that weaves the language of arrest records and surveillance reports with the contemporary journal entries of a novelist (named Rodrigo) who is attempting to synthesize the stories of political activists, indigenous people, and others ensnared in a deadly web of state-sponsored terrorism. When Rodrigo's access to the archive is suspended, he proceeds to the General Archives of Central America and the Library of Congress, also collaborating with the son of the Identification Bureau's former head in a relentless pursuit of understanding. Human Matter is both a tour de force of fiction and a sobering meditation on the realities of collective memory, raising timely questions about how our history is recorded and retold.