Norte

by Edmundo Paz Soldán, João Baptista da Costa Aguiar (Tradutor)

Assassinatos brutais cometidos nas vizinhanças de ferrovias aterrorizam os Estados Unidos. O criminoso degola e sangra suas vítimas a facadas. Quase sempre as estupra, antes ou depois de mortas. Em seguida, calmamente abre a geladeira da vítima e se regala com um sanduíche de presunto, um copo de leite ou uma lata de cerveja enquanto assiste à TV. Quando as autoridades divulgam que o suspeito dos crimes pode ser de origem hispânica, uma onda de preconceito e violência contra os imigrantes se alastra pelo país.
Esse serial killer se torna a obsessão de Rafael Hernández, um modesto policial militar do Texas, descendente de mexicanos. Divorciado e distante dos filhos adolescentes, ele se refugia de seus problemas pessoais no trabalho e nas relações casuais com prostitutas.
Outra personagem central no romance, a boliviana Michelle, jovem pós-graduanda em estudos literários, vive às voltas com sua desastrosa paixão por Fabián, professor e ensaísta brilhante, cuja utopia intelectual é elaborar uma teoria geral da ficção latino-americana. Mas, em vez de escrever enfadonhos ensaios e papers sobre crítica literária, Michelle prefere desenhar histórias em quadrinhos protagonizadas por zumbis e ambientadas nos desertos da fronteira entre o México e os Estados Unidos.
A história desses dois personagens irá se entrelaçar com a vida do obscuro camponês mexicano Martín Ramírez, que chegou aos Estados Unidos fugindo da guerra revolucionária no México. Errante pelas ruas e estações de trem, esfarrapado e sem documentos, Martín é recolhido a um manicômio na Califórnia com o diagnóstico de demência catatônica. Seu enorme talento como desenhista será o elo insuspeito entre as múltiplas vozes da trama de Norte.

Genres: Fiction, Bolivia, Spanish Literature, Novels, 21st Century

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

the third novel from bolivian author (and cornell professor) edmundo paz soldán to be rendered into english, norte weaves together three disparate (but not entirely unrelated) narratives featuring immigrant characters from mexico and argentina. two of the threads are inspired by real-life individuals: ángel maturino reséndiz (the "railroad killer") and martín ramírez (a self-taught schizophrenic folk artist). contending with the personal politics of displacement, paz soldán's novel isn't so much a work about the emigrant/immigrant experience in general, but instead a foray into the lives of three quite distinct people and how they've adapted (or not) to their adopted home country. with graphic, detailed scenes of rape, mutilation, and murder, many readers will likely be put off, though paz soldán's use of vicious, ruthless violence (based as it is, again, on the life of an actual serial killer) never veers into the gratuitous.

norte succeeds on nearly every level, with a compelling pace that is as relentless as it ultimately is revealing. norte will undoubtedly appeal to fans of bolaño (as will the in-text nods to the late chilean author), but is likely more accessible to a general reader. given the current american political milieu, paz soldán's novel takes on an especially timely resonance. norte doesn't offer any answers about the ongoing immigration debate (nor does it strive to), but in portraying the contrasting, diverging fates of his three main characters, paz soldán effortlessly broadens our perspectives on the singularity of human lives, their ultimate interconnection, and the innate yearning for something forever beyond ourselves.

he let him walk. how many times on his beat as a ranger had he stopped a car for a broken taillight or an expired inspection sticker, to find that the driver was a frightened illegal? he felt sorry for them and let them go. he'd give them a break, and who knows, maybe now they were doing better than he was. but did any of it matter now? all his effort, and the hard work of so many other people, would be eclipsed by the media frenzy and people who wouldn't remember anything else but the one illegal who was a killer.

*translated from the spanish by valerie miles (vila-matas, busquets, a thousand forests in one acorn editor, and co-founder of granta en español)

**(4.5 stars)

[Rita · Rating 1 out of 5]

José Edmundo Paz-Soldán Ávila, nasceu em Cochabamba, na Bolívia, em 1967. Estudou relações internacionais em Buenos Aires, na Argentina e ciência política na Universidade do Alabama. Diplomou-se em literatura hispânica pela Universidade de Berkeley e é professor de literatura latino-americana na Universidade Cornell, Nova Iorque.

É um dos autores mais representativos da década de 1990 conhecida como movimento literário – McOndo corrente literária hispano-americana que rompe com a escola do realismo mágico que domina a literatura europeia e americana desde os anos 60.

O meu objectivo inicial era ler Río Fugitivo, 1998, que é simultaneamente um Bildungsroman, um policial, e um romance histórico-político da Bolívia. Infelizmente não encontrei nada publicado no nosso português, e tive que socorrer-me da oferta brasileira que também não era nenhuma a não ser este Norte, publicado em 2011. Como diz o ditado: quem não tem cão caça com gato!

São três histórias de um grupo de latino-americanos perdidos na imensidão Estados Unidos da América.
A narrativa é crua, dura e directa. As descrições são mínimas, os diálogos são circunstanciais e a maioria das vezes não atingem o objectivo principal que é levar a história um pouco mais além, as cenas de sexo são explícitas e regadas a violência e sangue. Há alguns apontamentos de humor negro que deveriam aligeirar a coisa, mas que não cumprem o propósito. As personagens são planas e não evoluem, têm todas graves problemas de saúde mental e entram em estado alucinatório com frequência.
Chegou a um momento que achei que também eu estava a alucinar e a ler o 2666 de Bolaño (más memórias e um dos meus grandes traumas).

Ainda pensei em lhe dar 2 estrelinhas, só que não! Definitivamente não gostei.

4/198 - Bolívia

[Missy J · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, the setting of this book is not in Bolivia. The author is Bolivian and one of the main characters has Bolivian roots, but she rarely mentions it in the story. Secondly, I have to warn that there are a lot of violent scenes depicted in this book. Initially, these two points (not set in Bolivia + violence) put me off from reading this book. However, I then found out that this book belongs to a Latin American literary movement called "McOndo," which is a counter movement to magical realism and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Macondo. From my understanding, "McOndo" focuses heavily on modern reality and the consequences of globalization.

Edmundo Paz Soldan presents us three narratives in "Norte." First, there's Jesus, the serial killer who was inspired by the real-life Railroad Killer of the 90s. There are some really graphic and violent scenes described here. Jesus is from a poor Mexican family, grew up without a father, is obsessed and attracted to his own sister, and becomes a car thief, who constantly crosses the US-Mexican border. Due to his bad relationship with his own mother and sister, he hates women. The itinerant nature of his work allows him to commit heinous crimes across the US without getting caught for many years. He uses different social security cards, different aliases and the police, if they ever catch him, always deport him to the border, not knowing that they are setting a criminal free.

The second story focuses on a female student called Michelle, who just recently dropped out of an academic program, so she can focus on her writing. She works at a fast food chainstore and tries to spend most of her free time drawing and thinking of a story about vampires and zombies. Unfortunately, she develops a toxic relationship with a newly divorced and drug-addicted professor. Something terrible happens to her and the professor is such a selfish and egoistical asshole. She lives far from her family, her friendships aren't stable and she is always on the lookout for inspiration in order to find the right words for her book. Finally, the last story is inspired by the life of the schizophrenic Mexican-American artist Martin Ramirez. His artwork catches the eye of a professor, but Martin has to pay a very heavy price for his "success," which he barely even notices.

I expected these three characters to somehow meet at the end of the book, but the author presents us with something else. All three characters are heavily influenced by their Latin American heritage and experiences in the US. Even though there's a border between the US and Mexico, the characters are shaped by both lands and the border becomes somewhat superfluous. Jesus can hide from his numerous crimes because there exists ineffective communication between the police and border security. Michelle is instantly attracted to people, who share a similar background, and wants to create something meaningful and original that talks about this experience. For Martin, he not only lost contact with his family when he was in search of work up north, he also lost his sanity. It's very difficult for me to put into words what this novel tries to say. But I think the author wanted to show the struggles and intricacies of this reality of carrying both sides of the border on your shoulder. If only people could stay at home and not have to move up north in order to pay for a decent life. However, reality is very different.

[Kokelector · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro fue recomendado por María José Navia en nuestro último club de lectura del 2017, recién recibido el aguinaldo fue una compra segura. Soldán, en cuatro historias que parecen disimiles, pero que están conectadas con el desarraigo y el traspaso de la frontera hacia Estados Unidos: ¿buscando alguna oportunidad? No, buscando una vida. Michelle la encuentra intentando salvar un amor de ensueño, para poder escarpar finalmente de una pesadilla. Martínez, que sabe que tiene el poder de cerrar los ojos y hacer desaparecer a todos para concentrarse de mejor forma en sus dibujos, Fernández quien ha podido hacer su vida en EE.UU. como policía para darse cuenta que la felicidad no siempre es como uno lo piensa y Jesús, que a través de su historia entendemos la maldad que puede surgir de una locura mal llevada dejándonos ese odio por un personaje malvado tan bien creado. Una novela que se lee rápida por la simple conclusión de saber qué pasará con todos los personajes, si existe una conexión más allá de la inmigración. No lo sabes hasta llegar a su última página. Una excelente novela para un verano caluroso que nos trae siempre a la memoria que hay libros que necesitan ser leídos, y este es uno de ellos.

[Rafa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Edmundo le falta fuerza, es una pena.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://amulherqueamalivros.blogs.sapo...

[Fel P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente novela. Bonita ironía sobre el (pos)modernismo literario como autología ("escribir meta")

[Joshua Buhs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dick Lit.

I picked that term up from Tatiana's review of another book with North in the title, North Water. She defines the term as "pseudo-manly books, like The North Water, which pretends to be some kind of deep, tough literature, but fails to hide that its author has an almost juvenile obsession with violence, gore and bowel movements." That seems fitting here.

Which isn't necessarily to say that Paz Soldán isn't a good writer. He is a compelling one--the story moves. And even as it does, it's obvious he's staking out meaning on a number of different levels, some of which bear more attention and study than others. The book comprises three stories on at different time periods, that seem to intersect only faintly, at least in terms of the characters meeting or hearing about one another.

But he draws other connections among them with images--a Saturday Evening Post cover--and word choice. And thematically. There's the repeated question of people being unable to find their voice--to say what needs to be said: one character refuses to speak much at all. Another is slow to learn to write. A third is searching for her voice, the novel reaching its conclusion when she thinks she has.

There's also the connection to Bolaño, especially "The Savage Detectives": There are savages of various sorts here, detectives, and Latin Americans lost in a wider world.

There's also the question of the way that the United States screws up the identities of Mexicans and people of Mexican heritage--it literally makes their identity problematic, the border not only on a map, but something that cuts through them. Which is all well and good, though, to be honest, I didn't feel that there was much *life* behind these themes. Paz Soldán is an academic, and it always felt as though the book was written to be analyzed by academics.

There's also the problem of the book treading on familiar territory. Much of the action takes place in a Texas university town--too may novels are set in colleges! It is true that Paz Soldán is critical of academia--sometimes lightly, sometimes, subtly and ferociously, suggesting that Professors are, in some sense, scavengers picking the bones off of those who do actual work, exploiting them for their own gain--but he's neither the first, second, or last writer to un-sheath the knives for academia.

The other two stories are also fairly familiar. There's the misunderstood artist in the insane asylum. And the serial killer. Again, he tries to destabilize these to an extent--the serial killer is an illegal immigrant, which would seem to go against his own sympathies, as an author--but the attempt seems too calculated. It doesn't help that the serial killer storyline is also police procedural, in which he gets to explain why the illegal immigrant serial killer does not undermine the plight of other undocumented people in America. I agree, but, once more, the point seems pedantic.

The bigger issue I have is the needless violence. In the afterword, the translator said that she and Paz Soldán worked hard to not make the violence gratuitous. I understand that she had a complicated task (a Bolivian author, living in the U.S., writing about Mexican characters learning American ways), and if I understood Spanish and could compare the original ti the translation, I might have been very impressed.

As it is, though, she failed on keeping down the gratuity of the violence. The opening chapter opens up with vivid descriptions of violence against women that are underexplained and overdescribed, and the assaults they don't stop. So much of the identity crisis is expressed by violating women's bodies; that may be the point, but Paz Soldán doesn't do much to explore this--only takes it for granted. I think, perhaps, the reason the only first-person character is female is to balance the scales, but she is also a very passive, indecisive character, so it doesn't help much.

At any rate, the violence seems put here to make the book feel gritty and real and authentic, but I generally found it unnecessary and off-putting, like showing off. Instead of making the book feel adult, it felt puerile.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the English translation. This is a tough book, from three perspectives but one is a serial rapist/murderer which caught me off guard. It’s well-written and the stories are loosely woven together. However, once I read the translator’s notes (which are at the end) the book made MUCH more sense and I wish I read this in Spanish.

[Martín Ochoa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Como seguidor de la literatura de la marginalidad llegué a este libro con cierta expectativa por todo lo que había oído de él. Novela organizada en 16 cuentos, o historias, que en algún punto cruzan sus tramas. Su vinculación es más bien leve, uno diría que la justa para poder darle a este libro de cuentos el título de la novela que no llega a ser. En ella se cruzan las historias de un estudiante Millennial, un simpapeles violador y asesino, de algunas de sus víctimas y de un recluso, entre otros.

Hay un axioma de la buena narrativa que, no por ser muy trillado, deja de ser cierto, y es el que reza que: de lo único que de verdad vale la pena hablar es de aquello que se conoce en profundidad. Y aquí es donde este libro falla. Los personajes son planos, los perfiles psicológicos, pueriles, las descripciones son tibias, los diálogos son circunstanciales y fallan en llegar a su razón de ser, que es la de tirar la historia hacia adelante, y en definitiva, dejan en evidencia que el autor habla de un mundo que le es totalmente ajeno y que, evidentemente, no se ha tomado el trabajo de explorar en profundidad.

Uno pensaría que la figura de un extranjero indocumentado, cuya frustración lo lleva a transformarse en asesino en serie, da sobradamente para construir un perfil psicológico bastante interesante. El hecho es que aquí se nos aparecerá con unas motivaciones igual de anodinas que las del Millennial, y que de alguna manera recuerdan a las de las teleseries en la simplicidad y rapidez de su esbozo.

Da la impresión de que, si el autor no nos cuenta más de sus personajes, es porque sencillamente no los conoce. En lo que toca a la trama, estos faltantes intentan suplirse con finales ambiguos y preguntas que se responden con sugerentes puntos suspensivos que, lejos de estimular la imaginación, no hacen más que sugerir que el compromiso del autor con su historia es circunstancial. Quizás parte de la decepción sea el hecho de que este libro parece intentar sumarse al género incipiente de la literatura de frontera, ese que colecta historias de los que viven con un pie en México y el otro en los Estados Unidos. Suscripción que más que una adhesión termina por entenderse aquí como mera impostura.

[Annamari Laaksonen · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the previous book I read from the author is light, entertaining and easily consumable, this book is much darker and shockingly violent. This book is not situated in Bolivia but in the ‘North’ and interlinks the stories of three different people – two of them based in real-life: a serial killer, a schizophrenic artist and a young waitress (in fact, only one of them has Bolivian roots). The fact that Edmundo is a literature academic shows in the book. There are elements of modern literature snobbishness and not-so-subtle slaps to the academy. The writing is better than the story itself. It is skillfully written but shockingly violent, indulging in shocking details and then quite mundane and empty in other parts. One of the stories – the serial killer – is clearly the centerpiece of the story while the reason for the inclusion of the other stories is not quite clear. Disturbingly it is based on a real person (I will not disclose who) and the detailed description of extreme violence is disturbing to the point that it becomes nauseating and brings the story down. 

The book forms part of a Latin American literary movement – McOndo – with a focus on the effect of globalisation and modern reality (as counterpart to “Macondo”, the magical realism represented by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the literary icon from Colombia). Overall, I enjoy Edmundo’s style of writing but the book itself I did not appreciate so much.

I read this book as part of our project Virtual Nomad that explores and celebrates food, writing, cinema and music from different countries. www.myvirtualnomad.com

[Carlos Manzano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si algo hemos aprendido a lo largo de la historia es que los paraísos no existen. Y que los sueños, si en algún momento llegan a realizarse, lo hacen tan contaminados de dejaciones, de renuncias, de abandonos y de mentiras que solo su falsificación nos anima a reconocerlos como tales. En “Norte”, novela de Edmundo Paz Soldán publicada por Mondadori en 2011, encontramos a dos inmigrantes latinoamericanos y a una descendiente de emigrados que persiguen en el ansiado “norte” no tanto la consecución de ciertos sueños, tal como la imaginería popular se empeña en bosquejar, sino algo más simple y accesible, al menos en apariencia: el simple ejercicio diario que les permita reconocerse a sí mismos como tales y construirse un entorno personal accesible. Y cada uno lo busca a su manera, pues los tres parten de contextos muy diferentes, que por fuerza han de condicionar no solo el sentido de su búsqueda, sino ante todo el tránsito cotidiano que emprenden hacia donde quiera que esa búsqueda les lleve.

El norte, por tanto, surge como espejo deforme, como leyenda inventada, como falsa promesa o como prisión voluntariamente asumida, y también como muchas cosas más. Los tres personajes principales, por otra parte, se desenvuelven en periodos no estrictamente coincidentes. El pintor Martín Ramírez, inspirado en un personaje real de igual nombre, llega al norte en los años treinta del siglo pasado con el propósito de obtener unos ingresos económicos que le permitan sustentar a su familia, la cual se ha quedado en México. Sin embargo, sus problemas mentales lo llevarán a vivir permanente ingresado en un manicomio, donde se dedicará a pintar hasta alcanzar fama internacional.

“Se puso a dibujar trenes. Caballos con alas y jinetes con sombreros. Mujeres desnudas montadas a caballo. Cuando extrañaba San José, dibujaba sus casas, sus ranchos, sus iglesias, sus árboles, su familia, sus animales, sus fiestas ―en las que había hombres y mujeres bailando y tocando diferentes instrumentos musicales, sobre todo un guitarrón―, sus corridas de toros. Su colorado recinto, El Picacho. A veces trataba de que todas esas cosas formaran parte de un solo dibujo, con lo que debía pegar con cinta adhesiva varias hojas de cuadernos.”

Jesús, en cambio, se mueve a lo largo de la última década de ese mismo siglo XX y sus ambiciones no consisten en labrarse un futuro halagüeño donde se le permita soñar con alcanzar el bienestar material de los habitantes del norte, sino ceder a sus instintos primarios que lo llevan a cometer crímenes espantosos (llegará a ser conocido como The Railroad Killer) y de paso hacerse con joyas para regalar a su mujer. Los viajes al norte de Jesús no tienen la menor intención de permanencia; son siempre de ida y vuelta. Para él, el norte anhelado no tiene nada que ver con la prosperidad.

“Hojeó las revistas sobre una mesita al lado de un sofá ―People, AARP Magazine―, y por un momento se imaginó con una vida prestada en ese país que no era el suyo, recibiendo amigos durante las noches, cortando el césped los sábados por la mañana, viendo televisión con su mujer e hijos los domingos por la noche, un perro o un gato a sus faldas.
Le dio asco esa fantasía, tener esa vida.”

Y finalmente está Michelle, hija de emigrantes bolivianos pero ya asentada en el sistema social del norte, ubicada en el presente y único de los personajes que se expresa en primera persona, y cuyos desvelos cotidianos se bifurcan entre dudosos proyectos como creadora de cómics y una tormentosa relación con otro inmigrante llamado Fabián. Aunque de los tres es quien mejor encaja en su entorno, tampoco llega a sentirse de verdad parte de aquel norte emocional al que sus padres emigraron en esa búsqueda permanente de progreso que lleva impulsando al homo sapiens desde su aparición hace casi 300 000 años en las praderas de África.

“En una rotonda al centro del campus, una inmensa bandera de los Estados Unidos ondeaba orgullosa al viento. Era una espía aguzando la vista por el barrio que había sido mío, buscando rostros sospechosos, esos que en sus expresiones me dirían de su desazón a la hora de levantarse para ir a clases. Pero no, era difícil sospechar de alguien. Todos lucían la misma expresión esperanzada en el rostro. No había pasajeros en trance. Igual que yo durante un tiempo, hasta que vino la crisis, el momento en que decidí saltar al vacío.”

Hay también otros personajes secundarios que de igual manera parecen haber conseguido echar pie en ese norte soñado, como el policía Fernández, que se encargará de perseguir al asesino en serie encarnado por Jesús, o la hermana de este último, quien, aunque ilegalmente, ha conseguido instalarse en Albuquerque.

“Seguro pensó que una vez cruzara al otro lado el mundo se le abriría a sus pies; ahora era una más de la fuerza laboral de choque. Ganaba más que allá, pero a cambio vivía una vida de sueños escasos”.

Se pueden contar muchas más cosas de la novela, de lo que acontece a los personajes, de sus dudas, de sus ambiciones, de sus delirios incluso, pero a mi juicio lo importante, tal como señala el título, es la diferente relación que los tres establecen con esa ficción tantas veces codiciada que representa el norte, o lo que es lo mismo, la comodidad, la asunción de modelos establecidos, el devenir, el consuelo. La seguridad. Las falsas certezas. Sea como sea, “Norte” es una novela brillante, magníficamente construida y ajena a cualquier tentación maniqueísta o compasiva: Paz Soldán sabe que el autoengaño es quizá la única alternativa posible, aunque no mejore las cosas ni sirva para superar los problemas. Todos los personajes sobrellevan a su manera las diferentes exigencias que se les presentan. Algunos han asumido la ficción del norte promisorio como algo suyo; otros saben que la única opción, la que realmente está en sus manos, es construirse su propia ficción personal donde reconocerse, aun con todos sus engaños y sus limitaciones. El norte, pues, más que un espacio físico reconocible, también es ese espejismo imposible pero irremplazable que lleva impulsando a la especie humana desde sus inicios.

[Marivl · Rating 3 out of 5]

En esta ocasión me encontré con la Antología de 16 cuentos titulada Norte y publicada por la editorial La Hoguera, aún me queda pendiente la novela de Paz Soldán con el mismo título publicada por Random House.

Sin sospecharlo siquiera resultó que la mayoría de estos cuentos ya los había conocido en "Desapariciones", "Las máscaras de la nada" y "Amores Imperfectos". Fue agradable volver a reencontrarme con algunos de mis favoritos.

[Mara Díaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading Norte I actually thought it was too dark but as I continued the reading it grew on me and, like all of the books by Edmundo Paz Soldán, I couldn't put it down until the end.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

16 cuentos cortos, y no tan cortos, con personajes con los que te puedes identificar fácil.
Dos de estos cuentos están basados en historias reales.
Lo recomiendo, claro que sí.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up mainly because I've been making my way through whatever fiction by Bolivian authors I can find in English. That said, the author lived in the US for somewhere around twenty years before writing this between 2007-2011, and it has basically nothing to do with Bolivia. Rather, it is thematically concerned with Latinos who (like the author) migrate to the titular north of the United States. This is done via three storylines following three characters across three timelines, which are told in 32 chapters across five parts. (Each storyline unfolds in linear chronological order, but the constant shifting between them grated, and I couldn't locate the narrative or stylistic motive for the structure and found it rather frustrating.)

One storyline is a freely fictionalized imagining of the life of the real-life Martin Ramirez, who left Mexico in the 1920s to work on railroads in California. After a few years, he fell into mental illness and spent the rest of his life in psychiatric facilities with a diagnosis of catatonic schizophrenia. While institutionalized, he created elaborate artworks combining Mexican folkloric elements with modernity. He is now considered one of the great "outsider" artists and his work is held in the folk art collections of major museums. The interior life imagined here never really worked for me and always felt life an extended writing exercise.

The most current storyline follows the 20-something daughter of Bolivian immigrants who has dropped out of grad school in an Austin-like Texas city. She's half-heartedly trying to develop a graphic novel with supernatural elements, but is struggling not to be derivative and works at a Taco Hut to make ends meet. She's also falling back into a very unhealthy relationship with her former professor, a supposedly brilliant Argentine who is himself struggling with his work and life. Both characters are fairly insufferable and it's hard to locate what the point of their narrative is.

The most narratively compelling storyline is also the most conventional -- a fictional imagining of the life of the real-life "Railway Killer," Angel Maturino Ramirez. I had never heard of him, but he apparently crossed illegally back and forth between Mexico and the US during the 1980s and 1990s, hopping railcars all over the country, committing 20+ known murders and rapes. He is perhaps the archetype bogeyman for a certain segment of America -- the sociopath who comes across the border to literally rape and kill. The fictional rendering of his life has him starting as a young teenager and the descriptions of his crimes are intensely vivid and graphic, and not for the faint of heart. There are also occasional chapters focused on an American lawman of Latino descent who is sort-of on the case, but those don't feel particularly well conceived.

After closing the final page, I struggle mightily to discern what the point of it all is. In an afterword, the author writes that he wanted to write a novel that "brought in the stories of Latin Americans lost in the immensity of the United States." Certainly each storyline has an immigrant who has come north seeking a better life or dream of some sort. But each of those three cross the border already carrying the seeds of their own self-destruction in their brains, so I'm not sure what the "immensity of the United States" has to do with any of it. The two American-born second-generation characters sit in a form of unease between cultures, but that's a well-worn type. Overall this never worked for me.

[kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

TW: graphic scenes of rape, murder, mutilation

"Norte" is Bolivian author Edmundo Paz Soldan's third novel, originally written in Spanish and translated into English. There are three distinctly related narrative threads within this novel, two of which are inspired by real people. The first is the story of Jesus, a ruthless serial killer based on the life of Angel Maturino Resendiz, who hopped freight trains throughout the U.S. and murdered his victims in their homes near railroads from the mid-80s and throughout the 90s. The second is the story of Martin, based on the life of Martin Ramirez, a self-taught, schizophrenic artist who languished in California's mental hospitals for thirty years before dying in one in 1963. The third is the present-day story of Michelle and Fabian, a Bolivian and Argentinian artist couple struggling with drugs and depression.

This book is not so much about the immigrant experience, but about the pain of displacement and loss, and being in places unfamiliar and strange and far from "home." All four of the main characters struggle with madness, a theme that runs prominently throughout the novel. Martin's and Michelle's art is inspired by voices and the shifts in their environment, Jesus' acts are also inspired by voices that command him to kill women. Jesus is a highly repugnant character, perhaps one of the most awful people I've ever had the displeasure of reading about. There are very graphic and detailed scenes of rape, murder, and mutilation in this book. The target of Jesus' violence is women, which he possesses a pathological hatred for. I can see where this would probably turn a good number of readers off, though personally I did not feel that the violence was too gratuitous (reminder: we are talking about a serial killer, after all).

Overall, I liked this book and found it to be very readable.

Four stars.

[Granny Sebestyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Norte" d'Edmundo Paz Soldan (352p)
Ed. Gallimard

Bonjour les fous de lectures

Je vous emmène à la découverte d'un auteur bolivien.
Il nous parle non pas de son pays, mais du Mexique et des États-Unis et de la difficile adaptation des "chicanos" à certains moments du XXe siècle.

Trois récits, trois époques, trois angles différents, mais un sujet, l’exil et ses conséquences sur les personnes, qu’elles aient quitté volontairement ou non le pays où elles sont nées.
Jesus, qui voue un amour excessif à sa soeur, est un tueur en série qui sévit entre 1984 et 1999 le long de la voie ferrée séparant le Mexique des Etats-Unis.
Martín Ramírez, schizophrène, à présent considéré comme un des artistes majeurs de l’art brut, a produit des œuvres tourmentées et obsessionnelles entre 1931 et 1963 dans un asile psychiatrique des Etats-Unis.
Enfin, Michelle, étudiante dans une université vit une passion chaotique avec Fabián, un de ses professeurs déjanté et accro à toute sorte de substances.

Voici la vie de trois déséquilibrés dont l'exil (volontaire ou pas ) a encore accentué le mal-être.
Trois personnes aux portes de la folie.

L'auteur exprime la difficulté de ces exilés à s'intégrer dans un pays autre que le leur et leurs rapports conflictuels avec les "vrais" américains ( immigrés de plus longue date qu'eux).

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce récit même si l'on constate un certain déséquilibre entre les trois histoires: celle de Jésus et de Martin étant privilégiées et donnant au troisième récit une impression d'inachevé.
Mais l'ensemble est très intéressant et agréable à lire (malgré quelques scènes de violence à noter pour les âmes sensibles)

Il faut savoir que les deux premiers personnages ne sont pas nés de l’imagination du romancier, mais qu’ils ont bien existé sous un autre nom.

"Norte" est le premier roman de cet auteur traduit en français.

[maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norte é um romance de embrulhar estômagos, com cenas explícitas e violentas carregadas de detalhes que se estivessem em formato audiovisual, certamente seriam censuradas.

Tal violência, embora enoje, põe o leitor em uma posição contraditória e constrangedora, onde a repulsa e o desejo de abandonar o livro se encontram com a curiosidade de saber mais e mais sobre os protagonistas.

Por falar neles, todos estão cercados por uma aura de loucura, de ódio, de desespero capazes de acelerar o coração em determinados momentos da narração. Ainda que esta tenha sido dosada na maior parte do livro, em algumas partes (mais para o fim do livro) senti que o autor perdeu a mão e transformou alguns personagens em caricaturas, estereótipos.

O formato do relato (em primeira e em terceira pessoa), ao passo que ajudam na perpetuação dessas caricaturas, também criam uma atmosfera de empatia, humanização. No fim, todos os personagens são, para o bem ou para o mau, humanos.

Em contrapartida, como raramente acontece em outros romances, o pano de fundo consegue ser tão interessante quanto as histórias principais, com a política anti-imigração estadunidense e a rotina da fronteira se esgueirando sutilmente em determinadas cenas e chamando totalmente a atenção em outras. Nesse sentido, Soldán faz jus a sua carreira prévia de internacionalista.

Por fim, o livro é ótimo, mas recomendo cautela na leitura em virtude da brutalidade das narrações (especialmente nas partes de violência sexual). Se for sensível, não leia.

[Abelardo Valdez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me estremeció esta novela. Edmundo Paz Soldán desarrolla las tres perspectivas de inmigrantes, los protagonistas de la novela, los con claridad y tremenda empatía, creando una narrativa mosaico que te engancha y no te deja aún cuando has terminado el libro.
La novela empieza con un adolescente mexicano que comete un acto irredimible y de ahí comete actos cada vez más violentos durante toda su vida. Entre las diferentes etapas de la vida de este asesino en serie, la narrativa explora la vida de un inmigrante bracero que vive su vida en los manicomios de los estados unidos, convirtiéndose en un artista influyente de a mediados del siglo veinte, y también explora la vida de una académica estancada en un relación romántica con su profesor.
Los tres protagonistas tiene una relación estresada con los estados unidos y Paz Soldán nos hace sentir las luchas de estos tres, incluso del personaje más terrible. Cada una de las tres vidas en enfoque saca a la luz verdades trágicas de la experiencia del inmigrante
Lo único que no me gustó de esta novela es la relación entre la académica y el profesor. Se me hizo demasiado estereotipado, pues nosotros como lectores sabemos que la muchacha debe dejar al novio, sin embargo, la muchacha no lo hace. Y qué aburrido el drama entre los dos. Sin embargo, las vidas del artista y el asesino en serie son aventuras aterradoras, melancólicas, y trágicas.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked Norte out from the library based entirely on the cover and book title. They caught my eye and intrigued me so much that I didn't even read the synopsis before starting the story, and I'm glad I went that route. The first few chapters are shocking, though really no more so than the rest of the book, and the story as a whole is kind of confusing right up until the end. That's not to say that Edmundo Paz Soldan has written a story that could easily be summed up or tied together in a few pages. It's more that everything is woven together so neatly, but still a little chaotically, and you end up so enmeshed in the characters' stories that it's hard to see the events and themes that connect them all. If you struggle to get through the first three parts of the book as I did (really, I was so confused and had a hard time seeing each character as anything other than one-dimensional), please keep reading. This book is worth your time.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

i picked this book up in australia because i was missing my arizona hometown and it sounded like something that might include arizona. i don't know anyone who knows this book. the description of the book is really not what happens. i'm sure it's because i read the translation. the idea of the original sounds very interesting and i hope one day i could read it.

it is really mostly the violent story of a "railroad killer" with other people thrown in to give you a break from the gore.

i surprisingly found the book an interesting page turner despite it all. i think the author does a good job of not making Jesus seem like the author and there is a level of not agreeing with him actions that make the book feel a little better. The "interconnection" between the stories is more on a "these people were on this land at other times and they were so different than me but still a part of my culture" level than they actually know and influence each other.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes place in Mexico and the US, as the main (sort of) character, a serial killer, crosses the border over and over. However, the author is Bolivian as is one of the characters. The book follows three stories, the killer, a mentally ill artist, and a "failed" academic. I had trouble fitting the academic (who also draws cartoons) into the story; she seemed like an afterthought. There is, yes, a lot of violence. And a lot of reflection on Mexicans in the US and the perceptions about Mexicans, either those living in Mexico, those crossing back & forth, and those having lived in the US semi-permanently. I found it hard to enter this story, took a lot of effort before, very close to the end, I was fully committed to this book.

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una novela que sorprende con la dirección en la que Paz decide explorar la experiencia del migrante latinoamericano en Estados Unidos. En vez de centrarse en gente “normal”, Paz decide explorar locos, psicópatas y adictos. Esta decisión resalta el enfoque literario que Paz quiere dar a su novela, en vez del comentario social que podría esperarse con esta temática. La prosa llega a combinar estilos de novelas de suspenso y de esas novelas modernas donde la vida de escritores y sus “dificultades” toman una buena porción de la atención. Aun así, el conjunto funciona suficientemente bien en mantener la atención del lector y proveer una experiencia de lectura agradable e interesante.

[Missyjohnson1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a difficult one for me to rate. In the story line about Jesus, it is dark and the violence is disturbing. In the story line about Martin, it is disturbing to read about his treatment in a mental hospital and to know how little that he is understood. The translation may have contributed to my lack of understanding why the storyline wit Michelle, Sam and Fabian were there. I did see the tie in the art of Martin that Michelle interacted with and the connection that Sam had with “the Railroad Killer” serial killer aspect. But still……..

[Kate Throp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. I feel a little rinsed out from this book. And almost find it more disturbing that two of the characters are based on real life people. One I felt terribly sorry for and one who was truly horrifying. The first chapter is harrowing and VERY graphic possibly a little to much so ... a continued but only quibble I have with the book. But if you can get past that I think it is a fabulous read. Particularly compelling in the current climate regarding migrants both legal and not.

[Carlos Ghiraldelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se tentarem te vender a história desse livro como mais uma história de crime (como fizeram comigo), não acredite. Tem crime, mas nem de longe é o tema principal.

A subjugação latina e a violência com que isso é tratado me tocaram muito mais do que a violência gráfica do livro, que de fato existe. Uma grande história entrecortada entre 3 personagens principais, sempre com latinos a caminho da "nova vida" nos estados unidos.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid writing and an interesting (and topical) plot makes it a good read. A few structural issues around the plotting could be better but not enough to mar the works overall strength.
Some may find the borderline gratuitous violence and questionable feeding of cultural stereotyping a bit unsettling. Worth the time.

[Heberquijano · Rating 1 out of 5]

22/45 Si bien la historia paralela entre el pintor y el serial k podría ser mucho más lírico, intenso y narrativamente menos torpe, para no parecer una novela de tesis, con personaje predispuesto a la idea de migración (nociva para los cuatro personajes de la novela)

[Daniel H · Rating 3 out of 5]

No es mala, pero tampoco termina por ser buena y se queda en la medianía. Tres historias, dos de ellas sólidas y la última bastante más floja, que el lector espera se entrecrucen en algún momento, pero ese encuentro resulta forzado, por lo que la idea de tener tres historias pierde sentido.