Bogotá

by Alan Grostephan

In Bogotá , a taut, moving novel set in present-day Colombia, Wilfredo decides to uproot his family from their small town, where his ferry service on the river subjects him to the gruesome errands demanded by the local paramilitary. Moving in with relatives in a slum in Bogotá, the family tries desperately to achieve the smallest measure of comfort and hope in a world of almost total ruin, wracked by deprivation, fear, and ceaseless violence. 

Alan Grostephan depicts with startling immediacy an urban landscape of extreme harshness and oppressive instability. The tension between the desperate conditions surrounding his characters and their efforts to hold on to their humanity gives Bogotá a ferocious energy. As Wilfredo and his family fight to stay alive and stay together, their plight emerges as equally enraging and uplifting, constituting a portrait of a society always on the verge of disintegration.

Genres: Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2013

About the author

Alan Grostephan is the author of "The Banana Wars" and "Bogotá", a novel chosen by the Wall Street Journal as one of the best ten books of fiction in 2013 and longlisted for the Pen/Robert W. Bingham Prize. He is also the editor and translator of "Stories of Life and Death", a collection of writing by emerging Colombian writers. He holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from UC Irvine and is a professor at Agnes Scott College. He lived for years in Colombia where he travels extensively and is currently writing about work, dispossession, and land restitution in Latin America. He resides in Decatur, Georgia and is married to the visual artist María Korol.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always happy when I can enthusiastically highlight a book or an author I feel has been unjustly under-appreciated! This is a searing, haunting, clear-eyed story of a poor Columbian family that moves to the Bogota slums to escape the violence in their small town, only to discover a society fractured and riven by violence of its own. This is not for the faint-of-heart or for those who need happy endings, but it is a deeply humanistic book that doesn't idealize its characters or offer up abstract hope. It's also incredibly well-written, each sentence a minor gem. I will not soon forget this book.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realistic novel about a rural Colombian family who are caught between the paramilitaries and the guerillas and must escape for their lives. After an arduous journey to the capital, they move into a slum where corruption and violence are rampant. Though poverty traps them into desperate, difficult choices, they still maintain hope for better lives in the future. At first I suspected that Grostephan's characters served a certain view of Colombian society more than they contributed to the literary elements of the novel. But by the end, they are completely captivating. It's hard not to root for them and to join them in hoping for a more secure, safe environment for the next generation.

[ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

My gut feeling is that the story the author wrote is a very good representation of what it is like to be a poor citizen of Colombia.As times have changed and the poor move from rural areas of many of these countries, into the slums of the cities, they face hurdles on every side-the government itself, the drug chiefs, the gangs, the paramilitary and ineffective charities. The author has woven a very believable story of one extended family and how they try to cope with all the forces against them. It is harrowing a lot of the time, with glimmers of hope which are usually mashed down sooner if not later. Eye opening and very engaging.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro llegó a mis manos por obra de casualidad durante una lectura del autor en la Universidad de Wisconsin en Eau Claire. La primera vez que escuché acerca de él estaba escéptica pues los libros sobre la violencia en Colombia no son mis preferidos, sin embargo después de escuchar unos capítulos y hablar con el autor lo único que tenía era curiosidad, muchas ganas de saber a través de una historia ficticia cómo un estadounidense, o un gringo como nosotros los llamamos, que nada tiene que ver con el conflicto o el país expone Colombia a su mundo angloparlante. Quería saber la perspectiva de un externo.

Así que desde que cuando empecé a leer el libro fue grande la sorpresa que me llevé al encontrar una cautivadora historia entorno a una familia desplazada de su tierra por la violencia y cómo se desarrolla su vida a lo largo de seis o siete años en los que el autor hace un muy buen trabajo ilustrando los cambios de gobierno, las condiciones y tipos de vida, y todos los sucesos del país de la forma en que la clase baja lo percibe.

Como Colombiana es una experiencia muy agradable leer este libro, en especial estando en el exterior, pues a pesar de que no es un cuento de hadas en donde todos fueron felices y comieron perdices, es inevitable sentir alegría y calidez al leer palabras, lugares y comidas típicas de casa. Y aunque sin duda lamento que este libro aún no esté en planes de ser traducido y publicado en Colombia, debo admitir que traducirlo arruinaría el efecto, pues no hay nada más gratificante que leer en un libro en otro idioma palabras y frases originales de tu tierra en su idioma original.

Y sé que para un angloparlante que jamás ha tenido contacto con Colombia y su hermosa cultura es un poco decepcionante no encontrar al pie de página una traducción o descripción en inglés de todas aquellas palabras desconocidas en español, pero poniéndome en los zapatos del autor, no hay manera de traducirlas, la única forma de entender es buscar imágenes al respecto o ir y verlo en carne propia. Después de todo hay miles de libros llenos de partes en latín o francés sin traducción o explicación alguna y no hay nada que hacer al respecto, así que ¿por qué no tener uno con español también?


This book came into my hands by chance work in an author reading at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire . The first time I heard about it I was skeptical as books about violence in Colombia are not my favorite , but after hearing a few chapters and talk with the author all I had was curious , eager to learn through a American fictional story how an American, or gringo as we call them , that has nothing to do with the conflict or country exposes Colombia at his English-speaking world . I wanted to know the perspective of an outsider .

So since I started reading the book was big my surprise to find a captivating story around a family displaced from their land by violence and how their life change over six or seven years where the author does a very good job of illustrating the changes of government , the conditions and lifestyles , and all events in the country in the way the lower class percive them.

As Colombian is an enjoyable experience reading this book, especially being on the outside , even though it is not a fairy tale where everyone lived a happily ever after , it is inevitable to feel joy and warmth to read words , places and typical meals from home. And while certainly regret that this book is not yet planned to be translated and published in Colombia , I must admit that translate ruin the effect , as there is nothing more rewarding than reading a book original in another language phrases and words of your land in their original language .

And I know that for an English speaker who has never had contact with Colombia and its beautiful culture is a bit disappointing not to find footnotes with a translation or English description of all the unknown words in Spanish , but putting myself in the shoes of the author, there is no way to translate them, the only way to understand is to search images about or go and see it firsthand. After all there are thousands of books full of parties in Latin or French without translation or explanation and there is nothing to do about it, so why not have one in Spanish too?

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

a bit of an obscure publisher, triquaterly from northwestern university books, in evanston illinois, but, great first novel chronicles a family living in rural colombia, dad is a river boat owner and things are mas o menos great, till the paramilitary starts using his boat as the preferred transportation in the are (lots of mutilated bodies to dispose, drugs to transship etc of there), so fam takes off the the city, bogota. things start going downhill then. they move in with wife's sister in the favela, husband ruptures disc first day on job unloading semis, #2 son has great potential but also has to join the neighborhood gang, girlfriend gets pregnant, etc etc.
compelling and oving story, not too maudlin, and not too magical.

[Ron Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is easy to fall into a trap during a brief visit to Bogotá, a beautiful city with a young population, universities seemingly every few blocks, museums, libraries, coffee houses... Just the impression the tourism department wants a visitor to leave with. But we do ourselves a disservice if we believe a short visit to any country or large city can provide even a slight understanding of it. Yes, Colombia is a beautiful country with wonderful people, and it is definitely worth visiting. But Alan Grostephan's novel should be required reading for any one tempted to believe they could truly know Colombia based on their own direct, brief experience. We would do well to read such books before visiting any country as tourists.

[Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read. It shows you the real life of Latin American people. Knowing the history of Latin America and hardships of Latin American people this book depicts how "modern" Latin American population lives...trying to live. In some parts the writing style reminded me of Márquez and Rulfo. As I speak Spanish, I like that the author occasionally uses Spanish in the text (2-3 words per 5 pages). For some reason, that technique made me feel more connected to the characters and have more understanding of what they were going through.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very tough book to read, especially when visiting Bogota. I had read many books, fiction and nonfiction, before my trip to Colombia and was well aware of the violence, displacement, lost lives. This novel follows one family as they are forced to leave their rural life and move to Bogota to survive. While reading this book, one wonders if they really do survive, though they have not lost their lives. The saddest in the family for me was Hernand who studies for his college entrance exams and learns that his slum school did not prepare him for the exam.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting subject matter, but I felt there was something lacking in the execution.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bogota is a sobering tale of a family caught between two violent warring gangs in their small rural town in Columbia. To escape certain death, they flee to Bogota with high hopes of a new, prosperous life in the city. However, they find that extreme poverty and rampant corruption in the city provides no hope for a better life. I suspect this mirrors the situation found in Columbia today. The writing was good, but I found myself unsettled about the situation in the country.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Columbian contemp....near present Bogota, Columbia....underclass in Columbia, the struggle and stagnancy, neighborly violence. Real, depressing, stark.

[Pamela]

In sensuous yet highly disciplined prose, Alan Grostephan depicts the lives of late 20th century/early 21st century village Columbians displaced by political and economic forces: corporate landowners, guerrillas, paramilitaries, drugs, global trade. Wilfredo, who makes a living with his small boat as a panguero, or ferryman, barely escapes with his life when his neighbors decide he has been collaborating with the local paramilitary. He and his two teenaged sons and his wife make their way to relatives near Bogota, but violence is not so easily escapable. Their city relatives initially seem closer to the promise of peace and affluence, and yet Grostephan shows how elusive those desirables really are. He conveys the concrete, day-to-day existence of Columbians of all classes and affiliations with vivid and compassionate specificity, not excepting the girls and women, who have sorrows and terrors parallel to but differing from those of the men. This is a beautiful, melancholy, moving novel about radical displacement.

[WRH · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book different from what I usually read. Very sad story about life for a poor family in Columbia at the height of the guerillas/military/paramilitary conflicts. How the life on the river for a family is turned upside down by forces outside their control.

[LK · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very slow-moving.

[Carolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it. Very real and raw but dialogue between characters was kind of hard to imagine. Too choppy.

[Alta]

A very good novel, but be prepared to be depressed by Bogota's violence and misery.

[Devin Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unusual, unexpected, excellently written--literary and inventive but not boring or slow. Fully drawn out characters in tow to their own selves, families, fates.

Good. A good book.