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El diablo de las provincias
It’s impossible to deny the impact on Latin American literature of a Sicilian author who, somehow, managed to join Borges with the great French Leonardo Sciascia. The reading of Sciascia is particularly important in Juan Cárdenas’s latest novel, in which politics, religion, and industry (three quintessentially Sciasian themes) are as important as sex or nature, two themes that Cárdenas tends to favor in this, one of the preeminent Latin American novels of the 21st century.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
About the author
Juan Cárdenas
60 books126 followersJuan Sebastián Cárdenas Cerón (Popayán, Cauca, 1978) es un escritor colombiano, autor de las novelas Zumbido (451 editores, 2010. Reeditada por Periférica, 2017), Los estratos (Periférica, 2013, Premio Otras Voces, Otros Ámbitos), Ornamento (Periférica, 2015) y El diablo de las provincias (Periférica, 2017, Premio de Narrativa José María Arguedas, 2019).
Publicó también el libro de relatos Carreras delictivas (Editorial Universidad de Antioquia, 2006/ reeditado por 451 editores, 2008). Asimismo es autor de numerosas traducciones.
Entre sus traducciones más notables se encuentran autores como William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, Gordon Lish, David Ohle, J. M. Machado de Assis y Eça de Queirós.
Publicó también el libro de relatos Carreras delictivas (Editorial Universidad de Antioquia, 2006/ reeditado por 451 editores, 2008). Asimismo es autor de numerosas traducciones.
Entre sus traducciones más notables se encuentran autores como William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, Gordon Lish, David Ohle, J. M. Machado de Assis y Eça de Queirós.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 246 reviews
October 15, 2023
Putting this in the I don't know what I just read shelf
October 16, 2023
Street art in Colombia
The Devil of the Provinces - a beguiling tale of a biologist returning to the small Colombian city where he was born and raised. He begins work as a substitute teacher at an all-girls high school, but soon finds himself caught in an intricate, deadly web woven by a host of diabolical spiders. A crime novel, you say? Only if we consider the biologist as the perpetrator, with his crime being his return to the city of his birth.
The biologist quickly discovers that his knowledge and background put him in conflict with those around him, particularly with the women and men in power. To begin with, he overhears a young lady in a bar describing their country as the happiest on Earth, where the primary source of their happiness is faith. As she cheerfully states, "No one here loses faith." Concerning the extreme forms such faith can take, deeper into the tale, this is what one wealthy and influential grande dame has to say:
“All the Lord's work is perfection, so the planet has a thermostat, it regulates its own temperature. Just think about freezers. You defrost them every so often, right? So they keep working properly. If you let the ice and the frost build up, that's where you're really in trouble. So what do you do? You defrost every once in a while, son, it's God's miracle cure, case closed. And that's the phase we're in now. Comes around every twelve thousand years, just like clockwork. So of course we're seeing traces of ancient civilization in what we now know as Antarctica, because it used to be, twelve thousand years ago, tropical paradise, just like the one we're living in, and the people who lived there were really ahead of their time, thanks to the extraterrestrials.”
Considering the circumstances, the biologist dare not raise any objections. And further on, he discovers there is actually a church, well-heeled and flourishing, espousing such preposterous beliefs.
How prevalent and deep-rooted is this fiendish practice of creating a cartoon world as a method of exerting control over an entire society and culture? Like a blow from a truncheon, our truth-seeking, rational scientist is given a disturbing, panoramic vision when he visits the city's small museum. In the vivid language of Juan Cárdenas:
“The biologist observed that, as with most extravagant paintings, the fabrication of custodiae had flourished during the Counter-Reformation, when the Catholic Church set in motion its major propaganda operation: the colonization of the senses through artwork. Persuasion wasn't enough anymore, subjugation was the aim. The passage from education to spectacle, evangelization to fanaticism. These images were made to trap the eye and flood it with vibration, illusions of movement, space-time dislocation.”
Yet, there's a sliver of light in this otherwise suffocating, stultifying city (what the biologist terms the “dwarf city”), articulated by, of all people, his friend, the dealer, who makes it his practice to shower in total darkness.
“I see how most of the stuff I think of as real is basically my own production. Things my head put together itself, without my permission. And right there, in the shower, the darkness and all that good water around me, I see, I can really see: goddamn, it's all clear all the sudden: half of anyone's life only exists in their head. And what's left after that, half of it happens in language, in fucking chatter, in noise.”
The Devil of the Provinces is a searing portrait of what an individual, no matter how open-minded and educated, must come to terms with when attempting to bring an element of wisdom to the life around them and their own life. Reading this memorable novel, I was reminded of that 1967 British TV series, The Prisoner, where the hero, number six (we're giving you a number and taking away your name), is imprisoned in a village on a small island, a village where everyone around him will not admit they are also prisoners, mere pawns to be manipulated.
The Devil of the Provinces deserves a wide audience. Special shout-out to Lizzie Davis for a marvelous translation. Read it.
Colombian author Juan Cárdenas, born 1978
September 14, 2024
I feel as if I should have liked Juan Cárdenas's The Devil of the Provinces more than I did. The book has been getting good reviews, but I found it to be a middling sort of read—though the translation is, I think, gorgeous. (I'll say a little something about that at the end of my review.)
The promo material for the book reads "After a series of failures, a biologist returns to his hometown to live with his grieving mother. But in this gripping crime novel that upends the genre’s conventions, strange events unravel what he thought he knew of his past, his present, and himself.
"When a biologist returns home to Colombia after fifteen years abroad, he quickly becomes entangled in the trappings of his past and his increasingly bizarre the unsolved murder of his brother [sic], a drug dealer seeking transcendence, a boarding school where students disappear and girls give birth to strange creatures. An encounter with a well-connected acquaintance leads to a job offer in big agriculture, and he’s gradually drawn into a web of conspiracy. Ultimately, he may be destined to remain in the city he’d hoped never to see again. In The Devil of the Provinces, nothing is as it seems."
To be honest, I did not experience The Devil of the Provinces as a "gripping crime novel." There's an essay by the translator at the book's end that attempts to make a case for The Devil in the Provinces as a crime novel. She cites a pair of lists writers in the genre have proposed as essentials of a crime/mystery novel and explains, how, by violating most of them, The Devil of the Provinces "upends the genre’s conventions." It's an interesting argument, but I'm not sold on it.
I can explain my dubiousness by looking at the elements highlighted in the second promo paragraph: the unsolved murder of the narrator's younger brother; the transcendental drug dealer; disappearing students; the strange births. The murder is unsolved, it remains unsolved, the narrator learns nothing new about the murder. The drug dealer showers in the dark with the hottest water he can stand and claims this habit produces visions, but the nature of the visions or their relationship to other events in the novel is unclear. No students disappear. There is one unusual birth, but it's not all that outside the realm of the normal.
The Devil of the Provinces isn't a crime novel, so if you pick it up based on the promo material, you'll be disappointed.
The Devil of the Provinces is, however, an interesting exploration of a) language and identity b) individual complicity with the climate crisis and the ills of capitalism, and c) the depiction of race in popular culture. It invites reflection on these topics. One could read any number of passages as potentially productive journaling prompts. I'm not going to go into the details of the ways the Cárdenas does this exploration. If you're curious about a, b, and c, read the novel; they're its real heart.
The novel's central character has done the "right" things: he's a biologist; he'd moved from Columbia to Europe where there are better employment opportunities. But jobs are drying up and he finds himself returning to the small Colombian city he grew up in and living in his mother's apartment. He's puzzled by the "deep how" of how all this happened and is trying to come up with a sense of who he is that leaves him with some sense of agency despite his life's disappointments.
Early in the novel, the central character reflects on his current circumstances: "he [the biologist] was fully aware that the causes [of his disappointments] had been external: they'd made cuts across the sciences. The rest had been merely allowing himself to tumble over the edge, giving in to inertia from the blow. But the biologist was convinced that in the subsequent fall, the slow and predictable sliding off the cliff face, there lay hidden a secret about himself, about his most intimate structure, something that, in the end, had vested him with an identity and maybe even a style. I am that form of falling, he thought, inhaling whatever was left. That gesture—letting go—is essentially me." He, and we, may wish for something greater from life, but we've all had those moments that force us to recognize that we are, in ways, simply ordinary.
The quotation above offers an example of Lizzie Davis's deft handling of the translation. The words flow naturally and capture the complexity of the novel's ideas without making them either inaccessible or too simple. As I read this novel, I kept experiencing imaginary glimpses of the original Spanish and the challenge it would pose for a translator. She allows us to see the biologist through his own eyes in sentences that read naturally even when they're unclear and complicated.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
The promo material for the book reads "After a series of failures, a biologist returns to his hometown to live with his grieving mother. But in this gripping crime novel that upends the genre’s conventions, strange events unravel what he thought he knew of his past, his present, and himself.
"When a biologist returns home to Colombia after fifteen years abroad, he quickly becomes entangled in the trappings of his past and his increasingly bizarre the unsolved murder of his brother [sic], a drug dealer seeking transcendence, a boarding school where students disappear and girls give birth to strange creatures. An encounter with a well-connected acquaintance leads to a job offer in big agriculture, and he’s gradually drawn into a web of conspiracy. Ultimately, he may be destined to remain in the city he’d hoped never to see again. In The Devil of the Provinces, nothing is as it seems."
To be honest, I did not experience The Devil of the Provinces as a "gripping crime novel." There's an essay by the translator at the book's end that attempts to make a case for The Devil in the Provinces as a crime novel. She cites a pair of lists writers in the genre have proposed as essentials of a crime/mystery novel and explains, how, by violating most of them, The Devil of the Provinces "upends the genre’s conventions." It's an interesting argument, but I'm not sold on it.
I can explain my dubiousness by looking at the elements highlighted in the second promo paragraph: the unsolved murder of the narrator's younger brother; the transcendental drug dealer; disappearing students; the strange births. The murder is unsolved, it remains unsolved, the narrator learns nothing new about the murder. The drug dealer showers in the dark with the hottest water he can stand and claims this habit produces visions, but the nature of the visions or their relationship to other events in the novel is unclear. No students disappear. There is one unusual birth, but it's not all that outside the realm of the normal.
The Devil of the Provinces isn't a crime novel, so if you pick it up based on the promo material, you'll be disappointed.
The Devil of the Provinces is, however, an interesting exploration of a) language and identity b) individual complicity with the climate crisis and the ills of capitalism, and c) the depiction of race in popular culture. It invites reflection on these topics. One could read any number of passages as potentially productive journaling prompts. I'm not going to go into the details of the ways the Cárdenas does this exploration. If you're curious about a, b, and c, read the novel; they're its real heart.
The novel's central character has done the "right" things: he's a biologist; he'd moved from Columbia to Europe where there are better employment opportunities. But jobs are drying up and he finds himself returning to the small Colombian city he grew up in and living in his mother's apartment. He's puzzled by the "deep how" of how all this happened and is trying to come up with a sense of who he is that leaves him with some sense of agency despite his life's disappointments.
Early in the novel, the central character reflects on his current circumstances: "he [the biologist] was fully aware that the causes [of his disappointments] had been external: they'd made cuts across the sciences. The rest had been merely allowing himself to tumble over the edge, giving in to inertia from the blow. But the biologist was convinced that in the subsequent fall, the slow and predictable sliding off the cliff face, there lay hidden a secret about himself, about his most intimate structure, something that, in the end, had vested him with an identity and maybe even a style. I am that form of falling, he thought, inhaling whatever was left. That gesture—letting go—is essentially me." He, and we, may wish for something greater from life, but we've all had those moments that force us to recognize that we are, in ways, simply ordinary.
The quotation above offers an example of Lizzie Davis's deft handling of the translation. The words flow naturally and capture the complexity of the novel's ideas without making them either inaccessible or too simple. As I read this novel, I kept experiencing imaginary glimpses of the original Spanish and the challenge it would pose for a translator. She allows us to see the biologist through his own eyes in sentences that read naturally even when they're unclear and complicated.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
April 10, 2025
Whoever did the marketing on this book needs a raise, or jail time - I’m not sure. Making a book about absolutely nothing sound interesting is a feat, but also the synopsis feels wildly misrepresentative of the contents of the book.
I found the writing in this to be dry and stilted, and I don’t even understand what the heck this was about. It’s a series of vignettes about colonialism, religion, climate change, race, grief, biology, relationships and lord knows what else - but none of it landed for me. The last 30% left me scratching my head.
I was debating giving this a two stars because a one star always feels so harsh, but honestly this was such a slog to get through and I kept hoping for things to turn around and they simply never did. RIP to the $20 I spent on this, you will be missed.
—-
calling this a "crime novel" is the same thing as calling Die Hard a Christmas movie... it's not wrong but...well...
I found the writing in this to be dry and stilted, and I don’t even understand what the heck this was about. It’s a series of vignettes about colonialism, religion, climate change, race, grief, biology, relationships and lord knows what else - but none of it landed for me. The last 30% left me scratching my head.
I was debating giving this a two stars because a one star always feels so harsh, but honestly this was such a slog to get through and I kept hoping for things to turn around and they simply never did. RIP to the $20 I spent on this, you will be missed.
—-
calling this a "crime novel" is the same thing as calling Die Hard a Christmas movie... it's not wrong but...well...
November 24, 2024
To jest jedna z tych książek, kiedy wiesz, że czytasz coś dobrego, podoba ci się, momentami czytasz jak zahipnotyzowana, ale kiedy ktoś zapyta co dokładnie ci się w tej książce podobało i dlaczego jest dobra, nie jesteś w stanie odpowiedzieć.
Tak że tak.
Tak że tak.
April 30, 2018
De la mano de un lenguaje exacto con ocasionales lirismos bien ejecutados, el lector vaga desorientado entre relámpagos que revelan trozos de historias tan monstruosas como familiares; y cuando el protagonista cierra los ojos y se dedica a sobrevivir, uno entiende que esa opacidad está llena de sentido. Pero de sentido muerto, falseado, ahuecado a propósito, porque sólo así se es "feliz" en Colombia, de espaldas a la lucidez, estratégicamente ciego.
February 20, 2023
Este libro me llevó donde quiso y yo lo seguí feliz.
Read
January 2, 2025"Gosto de relatos, mas também de pensar como se fabricam esses relatos que se difundem pela sociedade".
Peguei essa frase numa entrevista do autor colombiano Juan Cárdenas sobre "O diabo das províncias".
O protagonista é um biólogo que não tá no melhor momento da vida e volta para sua cidade natal para dar aulas num internato de meninas e morar com a mãe. Mãe essa que vive num eterno luto por conta do assassinato do irmão do biólogo tempos atrás. Faz isso por não ter opção melhor e deixa claro o tempo todo o quanto a cidade é um buraco. Mas já que está lá vai tentando estabelecer uma rotina para além do trabalho, pensar suas raízes, e no meio disso redescobre as tensões sociais e criminais do lugar e reencontra figuras do passado.
Logo de início é mostrado ao leitor que existe algo de estranho no internato, uma história sobre mortes, desaparecimentos, meninas grávidas sem que se conheçam os pais. Pensei que esse seria o fio condutor, que estava ali para desvendar esse mistério. Mas não. "O diabo das províncias" é um falso livro policial. O interesse de Juan Cárdenas não é contar uma história tradicional em que um mistério se apresenta e se revela, e sim falar de como essas histórias existem por aí aos montes sem resolução.
Juan Cárdenas diz que uma grande influência para escrever o livro foi o autor italiano Leonardo Sciascia. O que o atraí na obra de Sciascia é o fato de seus detetives não resolverem crimes, e sim descobrirem tramas de impunidade. E aqui vale lembrar o sentido de trama de vários fios que se cruzam, pois em "O diabo das províncias" são muitos os crimes e histórias de impunidade que vão se costurando. Apesar de não existir sempre relação direta de causa e consequência, as violências alimentam umas às outras, porque os poderosos estão sempre do lado do poder. Há histórias de líderes religiosos, gays obrigados a se manter dentro do armário, banditismo do agronegócio, disputas territoriais, influência política, e assim vai. Enquanto tenta viver essa nova velha vida, o biólogo esbarra em situações inusitadas que apresentam essas questões. As cenas servem menos para avançar a trama, já que não existe uma investigação no sentido tradicional, e mais para mostrar que essas histórias são inescapáveis e estão por toda parte. Mesmo quando nos sentimos distantes disso.
Aqui vale comentar outro ponto crucial do livro de Cárdenas que é tensionar o limite entre gêneros literários. Algumas cenas remetem a histórias de detetive, outras parecem literatura do cotidiano, romancezinho contemporâneo, de repente temos um nível de tensão digno do horror e até algo meio lynchiano e delirante. Faz parte do jogo proposto. Histórias curtas com um quê de fábula, segundo o autor. Minha impressão foi de que às vezes o jogo funciona melhor, às vezes promete mais do que cumpre, inclusive na reta final, mas num geral a experiência faz valer a leitura.
Principalmente se você pegar o livro preparado para se desapegar de um clímax no qual tudo se revela. Até porque nós latino-americanos sabemos desde sempre quem são os verdadeiros criminosos por trás de tantas mortes.
Peguei essa frase numa entrevista do autor colombiano Juan Cárdenas sobre "O diabo das províncias".
O protagonista é um biólogo que não tá no melhor momento da vida e volta para sua cidade natal para dar aulas num internato de meninas e morar com a mãe. Mãe essa que vive num eterno luto por conta do assassinato do irmão do biólogo tempos atrás. Faz isso por não ter opção melhor e deixa claro o tempo todo o quanto a cidade é um buraco. Mas já que está lá vai tentando estabelecer uma rotina para além do trabalho, pensar suas raízes, e no meio disso redescobre as tensões sociais e criminais do lugar e reencontra figuras do passado.
Logo de início é mostrado ao leitor que existe algo de estranho no internato, uma história sobre mortes, desaparecimentos, meninas grávidas sem que se conheçam os pais. Pensei que esse seria o fio condutor, que estava ali para desvendar esse mistério. Mas não. "O diabo das províncias" é um falso livro policial. O interesse de Juan Cárdenas não é contar uma história tradicional em que um mistério se apresenta e se revela, e sim falar de como essas histórias existem por aí aos montes sem resolução.
Juan Cárdenas diz que uma grande influência para escrever o livro foi o autor italiano Leonardo Sciascia. O que o atraí na obra de Sciascia é o fato de seus detetives não resolverem crimes, e sim descobrirem tramas de impunidade. E aqui vale lembrar o sentido de trama de vários fios que se cruzam, pois em "O diabo das províncias" são muitos os crimes e histórias de impunidade que vão se costurando. Apesar de não existir sempre relação direta de causa e consequência, as violências alimentam umas às outras, porque os poderosos estão sempre do lado do poder. Há histórias de líderes religiosos, gays obrigados a se manter dentro do armário, banditismo do agronegócio, disputas territoriais, influência política, e assim vai. Enquanto tenta viver essa nova velha vida, o biólogo esbarra em situações inusitadas que apresentam essas questões. As cenas servem menos para avançar a trama, já que não existe uma investigação no sentido tradicional, e mais para mostrar que essas histórias são inescapáveis e estão por toda parte. Mesmo quando nos sentimos distantes disso.
Aqui vale comentar outro ponto crucial do livro de Cárdenas que é tensionar o limite entre gêneros literários. Algumas cenas remetem a histórias de detetive, outras parecem literatura do cotidiano, romancezinho contemporâneo, de repente temos um nível de tensão digno do horror e até algo meio lynchiano e delirante. Faz parte do jogo proposto. Histórias curtas com um quê de fábula, segundo o autor. Minha impressão foi de que às vezes o jogo funciona melhor, às vezes promete mais do que cumpre, inclusive na reta final, mas num geral a experiência faz valer a leitura.
Principalmente se você pegar o livro preparado para se desapegar de um clímax no qual tudo se revela. Até porque nós latino-americanos sabemos desde sempre quem são os verdadeiros criminosos por trás de tantas mortes.
December 23, 2024
Powieść zdecydowanie nie dla wszystkich, ale ja przeczytałam ją dwa razy. Szczególnie ujęły mnie subtelności różnic klasowych, zawirowania skomplikowanych relacji w rodzinie, trudne emocje topione w używkach, nieustanne wątpliwości natury moralnej. Druga lektura pozwoliła mi wyłowić więcej elementów z tej niewielkiej formy, a każda kolejna może tylko przynieść więcej odpowiedzi na niezadane pytania, ale na ten moment tyle mi wystarczy.
November 25, 2024
z serii "co ja właściwie przeczytałam?".
ogółem fajna, szczególnie ten ostatni rozdział.
nie mów tak. tak się nie mówi. mów, co chcesz. niech nikt nie mówi ci, co wolno ci mówić. zamlicz. kochaj mnie do końca życia. poruszyło mnie to. nie wiem.
brawa dla pani kasi okrasko, bo tłumaczenie tego nie mogło być łatwe.
ogółem fajna, szczególnie ten ostatni rozdział.
nie mów tak. tak się nie mówi. mów, co chcesz. niech nikt nie mówi ci, co wolno ci mówić. zamlicz. kochaj mnie do końca życia. poruszyło mnie to. nie wiem.
brawa dla pani kasi okrasko, bo tłumaczenie tego nie mogło być łatwe.
November 17, 2024
Czuję wobec utworu "Diabeł z prowincji" pewną interpretacyjną bezradność. Czy to projekcja umysłu człowieka, który jest wiecznie na haju, więc rzeczywistość wymyka się spod kontroli? Czy to refleksje brata, który nie powinien przeżyć, bo był brudnopisem dla wersji ostatecznej, skazanym na niedokonaną zagładę?
Bezimienny biolog wraca do rodzinnego miasta, bo kariera nie wypaliła, więc musi przyjąć pracę w niezbyt prestiżowym studium nauczycielskim dla dziewcząt. W zwyczajne życie wkradają się wspomnienia, dawna dziewczyna, zagadka kryminalna, uczennice w ciąży, włochaty noworodek, śpiewająca maczeta i słoiki z przezroczystą cieczą. Bohater jest bardziej obserwatorem niż inicjatorem zdarzeń, bardziej tłem jednak niż głównym aktorem. Przysłuchuje się, przygląda, czasem włącza do akcji. Rejestruje rasistowskie poglądy niby otwartego towarzystwa, wygłasza wykład o awokado i unosi się na fali zdarzeń.
Cała historia dokądś zmierza, ale między wierszami staje się manifestem ekologicznym. Przyroda sama sobie poradzi, o ile człowiek nie będzie jej przeszkadzał. Jeśli się nie ockniemy i nie zaczniemy żyć świadomie, nie przetrwamy zagłady. By bajka skończyła się słowami "żyli długo i szczęśliwie", musimy włożyć wysiłek w ratowanie świata. Mam też nieodparte wrażenie, że ktoś inny odczyta to zupełnie odmiennie. I to jest siła literatury, prawda?
Bezimienny biolog wraca do rodzinnego miasta, bo kariera nie wypaliła, więc musi przyjąć pracę w niezbyt prestiżowym studium nauczycielskim dla dziewcząt. W zwyczajne życie wkradają się wspomnienia, dawna dziewczyna, zagadka kryminalna, uczennice w ciąży, włochaty noworodek, śpiewająca maczeta i słoiki z przezroczystą cieczą. Bohater jest bardziej obserwatorem niż inicjatorem zdarzeń, bardziej tłem jednak niż głównym aktorem. Przysłuchuje się, przygląda, czasem włącza do akcji. Rejestruje rasistowskie poglądy niby otwartego towarzystwa, wygłasza wykład o awokado i unosi się na fali zdarzeń.
Cała historia dokądś zmierza, ale między wierszami staje się manifestem ekologicznym. Przyroda sama sobie poradzi, o ile człowiek nie będzie jej przeszkadzał. Jeśli się nie ockniemy i nie zaczniemy żyć świadomie, nie przetrwamy zagłady. By bajka skończyła się słowami "żyli długo i szczęśliwie", musimy włożyć wysiłek w ratowanie świata. Mam też nieodparte wrażenie, że ktoś inny odczyta to zupełnie odmiennie. I to jest siła literatury, prawda?
November 26, 2023
Me encantó la última novela de Juan Cárdenas —"Peregrino transparente"— y entoces me pregunté qué me ofrecerían sus obras anteriores. Aquí un biólogo colombiano regresa a casa y encuentra su provincia natal atrapada en una lucha entre la transformación capitalista y la estasis conservadora, donde las ideas se ponen en práctica recubiertas de pretextos religiosos por una razón táctica, debido al deficiente nivel cultural. Se entrega al vagabundeo vital por su antigua casa, sus anteriores amigos, su exnovia, y se pierde discursivamente por entre la "ciudad enana". La vida es así, normal, con altibajos, hasta que el diablo obra de las suyas... la vida siempre se encarga de deformarlo todo, como si esa vida estuviera gobernada por demonios malignos, amantes del vericueto y no por la línea recta, por sátiros caprichosos y no por Dios y que Dios me perdone pero. Los intereses temáticos como la evolución y el cambio, lo naturalista y el infinito verde, la economía y la fe, siguen ahí, así que continuaré con el resto de su obra.
November 28, 2024
Dziwaczne miasteczko w Kolumbii i brak jakichkolwiek wyjaśnień. Króciutka książka, która zawarła w sobie ogrom emocji. O takie powieści, nietrzymające się ram gatunkowych nic nie robiłam. Dla mnie to świetny literacki eksperyment.
May 1, 2026
I'm not quite sure what to make of this book.
I wonder if the "mystery" is really more about the biologist serving a function in the story as an observer of life, a scientist gathering the information, sharing it with the reader while forming no hypotheses himself, nor any conclusions? I think it's instead up to the reader to try to thread something together, form some kind of hypothesis, arrive at some conclusion. Topics include science, religion, intellectual studies, colonialism/slavery, artistic freedom, personal tragedy, perception, personal values, faith, ecological destruction, genetic anomalies, and more. That's pretty dense for a fairly short book, especially since the novel unfolds at a languid pace.
Does the final result more resemble a tapestry or a crazy web of conspiracy theories? Both? Neither? Your guess is as good as mine.
I wonder if the "mystery" is really more about the biologist serving a function in the story as an observer of life, a scientist gathering the information, sharing it with the reader while forming no hypotheses himself, nor any conclusions? I think it's instead up to the reader to try to thread something together, form some kind of hypothesis, arrive at some conclusion. Topics include science, religion, intellectual studies, colonialism/slavery, artistic freedom, personal tragedy, perception, personal values, faith, ecological destruction, genetic anomalies, and more. That's pretty dense for a fairly short book, especially since the novel unfolds at a languid pace.
Does the final result more resemble a tapestry or a crazy web of conspiracy theories? Both? Neither? Your guess is as good as mine.
Read
April 12, 2026nie jestem pewna, czy zrozumiałam tę książkę, jednak w jakiś sposób ją poczułam.
May 25, 2021
El biólogo vuelve a su pueblo, a probar suerte. Con todos los títulos que le anteceden, quizás reencontrarse con sus raíces le permitirá también encontrare a sí mismo. Pero en esa Colombia rural los sucesos extraordinarios pueden estar a la vuelta de la esquina, o en el volver a encontrarse con el pasado. Con una pluma ágil, Juan Cárdenas, retrata la vida al ritmo de una aventura que va sucediendo a una velocidad que el protagonista no termina de asimilar en todo el relato. Con una historia detrás de los sucesos que no se revelará del todo, asomamos a una novela que cautiva por su paciencia en contarnos la vida cotidiana del biólogo, con todos los bemoles propios de una vida que no alcanza a sentirse propia del todo. Una lectura rápida y entretenida que cumple fiel su cometido, conocer al diablo de las provincias.
(...)"𝘋𝘪𝘦𝘻 𝘢ñ𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘪ó𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘰 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷í𝘢. 𝘴𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘶é𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘭 𝘥í𝘢 𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘴 𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘴, 𝘩𝘢𝘣í𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘦, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘵𝘭á𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘰. 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘰 𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘳𝘰, 𝘤𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘴 𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘻𝘢." "𝘌𝘯 𝘶𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘪ó𝘯, 𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢 𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘵ó 𝘦𝘯 𝘲𝘶é 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪ó𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘪ó𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘤𝘪ó𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭, 𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘶𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘰. 𝘜𝘺, 𝘥𝘪𝘫𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘻. 𝘌𝘭 𝘣𝘪ó𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘶𝘨ó 𝘦𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘫𝘰, 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢ñ𝘢𝘥𝘰. 𝘓𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘢í𝘵𝘢𝘴, 𝘢ñ𝘢𝘥𝘪ó 𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘪ó𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘨𝘶í𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘓𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘋𝘰𝘴 𝘯𝘪ñ𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘢ñ𝘰𝘴, 𝘥𝘪𝘫𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢, ¿𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘣í𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢? 𝘌𝘓 𝘣𝘪ó𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘰 𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘰 𝘱á𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘰 𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘪ó 𝘭𝘰𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘴, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘤ó𝘮𝘰 𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘫𝘰 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘥𝘢. 𝘕𝘰, 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘣í𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢." (...)
(...)"𝘋𝘪𝘦𝘻 𝘢ñ𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘪ó𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘰 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷í𝘢. 𝘴𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘶é𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘭 𝘥í𝘢 𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘴 𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘴, 𝘩𝘢𝘣í𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘦, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘵𝘭á𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘰. 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘰 𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘳𝘰, 𝘤𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘴 𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘻𝘢." "𝘌𝘯 𝘶𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘪ó𝘯, 𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢 𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘵ó 𝘦𝘯 𝘲𝘶é 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪ó𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘪ó𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘤𝘪ó𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭, 𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘶𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘰. 𝘜𝘺, 𝘥𝘪𝘫𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘻. 𝘌𝘭 𝘣𝘪ó𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘶𝘨ó 𝘦𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘫𝘰, 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢ñ𝘢𝘥𝘰. 𝘓𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘢í𝘵𝘢𝘴, 𝘢ñ𝘢𝘥𝘪ó 𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘪ó𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘨𝘶í𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘓𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘋𝘰𝘴 𝘯𝘪ñ𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘢ñ𝘰𝘴, 𝘥𝘪𝘫𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢, ¿𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘣í𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢? 𝘌𝘓 𝘣𝘪ó𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘰 𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘰 𝘱á𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘰 𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘪ó 𝘭𝘰𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘴, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘤ó𝘮𝘰 𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘫𝘰 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘥𝘢. 𝘕𝘰, 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘣í𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢." (...)
May 28, 2023
like threads from disparate dreams woven into a variegated new whole, juan cárdenas's the devil of the provinces (el diablo de las provincias) is a fresh, imaginative novel aswirl with rich imagery and vivid description. the second novel rendered into english from the colombian author, bogotá39 honoree (2017), and translator (faulkner, wolfe, machado, eça de queirós), the devil of the provinces flits between genres, lingering only long enough for cross-pollination to set. forced home to the dwarf city where he was raised, our middle-aged biologist disembarks into a world of colorful characters, competing interests, an inescapable past, and enough strangeness to force anyone wide awake. cárdenas writes with a certain magnetism and the devil of the provinces captivates in all its uncanniness.
*translated from the spanish by lizzie davis (elena medel)
but life is cruel, so cruel, she said over and over, it's hard but unsteady too, and senseless, ruled by a geometry we'll never understand but that we feel in our very flesh, and when you formulate a plan, when you commit to an idea, and you sketch and forge and sculpt, life will take care of distorting it all, as if demons were running the show, lovers of twists and turns and never straight lines, mercurial satyrs, not god, god forgive me, sometimes i think god lies in death and not life, because death is eternal rest, the perpetual light of righteousness. life, on the other hand, all that we call nature, that's the devil's work, the devil sides with beasts, with snakes and scorpions. the devil makes his nest in the eye of a bird, an egg's speckled shell, creatures' claws, a mess of feathers, river's whirl.
*translated from the spanish by lizzie davis (elena medel)
June 23, 2023
I’m not smart enough to understand this book 🤡🤡 I liked the summary in the back but idk I just didn’t understand the book 🤷♀️
April 6, 2025
Z drugim razem podobała mi się nawet bardziej niż za pierwszym.
September 6, 2025
„Walcz, by wszystko, co kochasz, zostało dziedzictwem kulturowym ludzkości” (s. 118).
Cóż to za nieokiełznana książka! Wszystko w niej wymyka się prostym kliszom: ni to komedia, ni kryminał, a dokładając do tego wybitnie plastyczny język i umiejętnie budowaną intrygę, dostajemy czytelniczą zabawę na najwyższym poziomie. Zaczyna się oczywiście niewinnie: po latach spędzonych za granicą, biolog wraca do rodzinnej mieściny w Kolumbii i z braku lepszych perspektyw podejmuje się pracy w tamtejszej szkole dla dziewcząt (jego wykład o wielkiej pestce awokado jako mistrzowskiej strategii ewolucyjnej to mój faworyt!). Jednak dość szybko rola nauczyciela zaczyna mu ciążyć, nie zaspokajając ambicji urodzonego naukowca, a bardziej frustrując i po prostu męcząc. Ale że powroty nieuchronnie wiążą się też ze spotkaniami, biolog dość niespodziewanie musi skonfrontować się z ludźmi oraz historiami z przeszłości. I wtedy akcja zaczyna się rozkręcać w tempie wręcz zatrważającym, po drodze serwując kilka porządnych fikołków, które potrafią skutecznie zbić z tropu, wreszcie doprowadzając do finału w taki sposób, że o całej książce tak szybko zapomnieć się nie da. Zapomnieć nie da się tym bardziej o puencie, która może jest morałem całej opowieści, a może nie, ale działa w taki sposób, że chce się do niej wracać i wracać, czytając po wielokroć wciąż z tą samą siłą.
Cóż to za nieokiełznana książka! Wszystko w niej wymyka się prostym kliszom: ni to komedia, ni kryminał, a dokładając do tego wybitnie plastyczny język i umiejętnie budowaną intrygę, dostajemy czytelniczą zabawę na najwyższym poziomie. Zaczyna się oczywiście niewinnie: po latach spędzonych za granicą, biolog wraca do rodzinnej mieściny w Kolumbii i z braku lepszych perspektyw podejmuje się pracy w tamtejszej szkole dla dziewcząt (jego wykład o wielkiej pestce awokado jako mistrzowskiej strategii ewolucyjnej to mój faworyt!). Jednak dość szybko rola nauczyciela zaczyna mu ciążyć, nie zaspokajając ambicji urodzonego naukowca, a bardziej frustrując i po prostu męcząc. Ale że powroty nieuchronnie wiążą się też ze spotkaniami, biolog dość niespodziewanie musi skonfrontować się z ludźmi oraz historiami z przeszłości. I wtedy akcja zaczyna się rozkręcać w tempie wręcz zatrważającym, po drodze serwując kilka porządnych fikołków, które potrafią skutecznie zbić z tropu, wreszcie doprowadzając do finału w taki sposób, że o całej książce tak szybko zapomnieć się nie da. Zapomnieć nie da się tym bardziej o puencie, która może jest morałem całej opowieści, a może nie, ale działa w taki sposób, że chce się do niej wracać i wracać, czytając po wielokroć wciąż z tą samą siłą.
December 5, 2024
Nie wiem co miałabym napisać o tej książce, bo nie rozumiem o czym ona była. No oprócz ogólnego zarysu fabuły, że do swojego rodzinnego miasta wraca naukowiec, który chce wesprzeć pogrążoną w żałobie matkę i odkryć tajemnicę śmierci brata. Potem dzieją sie wydarzenia, między którymi nie rozumiem powiązań, nie wiem do czego one miały prowadzić i co mi powiedzieć. Dużo się dzieje, ale to są takie wrzutki, trochę jak w pogmatwanym śnie coś interesującego się pojawia, a potem nagle znika bez wyjaśnienia.
W opisie jest porównana do książek Pynchona, i specjalistką od tego autora nie jestem, bo przeczytałam tylko dwie jego książki, ale „Diabeł..” zupełnie mi nie przypomniał jego twórczości. Pynchon jest dla mnie zdecydowanie bardziej szalony i absurdalny, u Cardenasa nie czuję tego „pynchonowskiego ducha”.
Oczywiście książka jest świetnie napisana (i przetłumaczona przez Katarzynę Okrasko), to z pewnością dobra literatura (dalam 3/5) i chętnie przeczytałabym coś więcej tego kolumbijskiego pisarza, ale może coś trochę dłuższego? Czy wydawnictwo ma coś w planach? A do „Diabła z prowincji” może kiedyś wrócę z bardziej otwartą głową i z większą uważnością w czytaniu.
W opisie jest porównana do książek Pynchona, i specjalistką od tego autora nie jestem, bo przeczytałam tylko dwie jego książki, ale „Diabeł..” zupełnie mi nie przypomniał jego twórczości. Pynchon jest dla mnie zdecydowanie bardziej szalony i absurdalny, u Cardenasa nie czuję tego „pynchonowskiego ducha”.
Oczywiście książka jest świetnie napisana (i przetłumaczona przez Katarzynę Okrasko), to z pewnością dobra literatura (dalam 3/5) i chętnie przeczytałabym coś więcej tego kolumbijskiego pisarza, ale może coś trochę dłuższego? Czy wydawnictwo ma coś w planach? A do „Diabła z prowincji” może kiedyś wrócę z bardziej otwartą głową i z większą uważnością w czytaniu.
September 29, 2023
Weird and fascinating novel. It went places.
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June 22, 2026hm, tf was that; podobały mi się wątki ekokrytyczne; myślę, że polaryzująca może być końcówka książki, która w ogóle nie jest satysfakcjonująca; ale nie jest satysfakcjonujące też życie, które opisuje
June 10, 2024
frantically googling “the devil of the provinces meaning” while rating this five stars
[edit: with time, I have mellowed... bumping this down to four stars]
[edit: with time, I have mellowed... bumping this down to four stars]
September 19, 2023
What a weird, oddly satisfying and dissatisfying novel. The writing was great, the intrigue was...intriguing, but it all seemed to lead no where. The translator's note talked a good game about subverting the genre (detective/mystery novels) and subverting expectations, but at some point you go from subverting to disappointing, particularly when there's a lot of set up and not very much in terms of pay off. A lot has to be inferred to the point where it feels like you're making it up. It felt like a dream throughout: being led through a house, down hallways and paths, to a dark room where...dun dun dun...you're ex-girlfriend lives!(?), she's missing a leg, she wants you to work for her; then, getting kidnapped by, presumably, forces/gangsters whose interests are opposed to those of your ex-girlfriend/employer but when they beat you up, you don't really know what they want; your drug dealer likes to shower in the dark! I like going on twisty, turny, bendy novel trips like this but when they're set up to provide a resolution, I'd like one. It sort of reminded me of the Year of the Rat novels by Murakami Hear the Wind Sing, Pinball, 1973, A Wild Sheep Chase, and Dance Dance Dance. I found those more successful than this I guess because with Murakami I was anticipating a weird, dreamy, David Lynchian story. This novel certainly felt like the first in the series, and I think if there are more, I will be better positioned to enjoy it knowing what to expect.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2018
"Algunas noches, cuando su mamá ya se había acostado, el biólogo salía al jardín a oler el fresco y a fumarse un porro en una mecedora vieja. Era el único momento de sosiego que tenía en esa casa, cuando algo dentro de él se iba desentumeciendo, y durante unos minutos, con el porro humeándole entre los dedos, podía ver cómo caía sobre el pasto húmedo el revoltijo de cosas todavía palpitantes y empapadas, recién molidas: la ciudad al otro lado del mundo, frases en los otros idiomas, las cortinas del apartamento diminuto donde había vivido los últimos dos años, después de divorciarse, el nauseabundo olor a especias y grasa de cordero que se metía por la ventana del patio interior y que había acabado por impregnarle toda la ropa, pedazos de memoria reciente que él trataba de procesar y estirar como si rellenara con desperdicios una especie de salchicha, deseoso pero a la vez atemorizado por la posibilidad de tropezar con algún objeto que diera consistencia y sentido al conjunto. Porque él sospechaba que en últimas la luz, la superficie suave con la que se le presentaba tal o cual recuerdo, la inminencia de un olor feliz que no llegaba, todo eso estaba secretamente recorrido por un orden, por una consigna que no acaba de formularse para él. Esa era mi vida, es todo lo que podía decir. Esa era mi vida y todo se jodió."
"No se puede ser auténticamente americano si uno no es a la vez naturalista, le decía su tío."
"No se puede ser auténticamente americano si uno no es a la vez naturalista, le decía su tío."
August 15, 2018
Hay una idea que atraviesa el libro y lo describe muy bien: la de alguien buscando conexión entre imágenes aparentemente inconexas. Así termino el libro, con ganas de releerlo y buscar entre los indicios los posibles sentidos.
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May 4, 2025Since I made it my mission to write at least a few words about every book I read from ArtRage, this one is no exception.
And, well… this was strange. I can see why some might dislike it, might even react with one huge what-the-fuck. It starts off relatively normal, then drifts further and further into the surreal. Yet despite its small size, it manages to encompass so much - returning to childhood setting, family tragedy, the selling out of ideals, ecology, the monetisation of ecology, Colombian mentality and violence, and much, much more. And the weirdness - let's not forget about it.
On top of it all, a brilliant translation by Katarzyna Okrasko and an absolutely phenomenal cover by Ula Pągowska.
And, well… this was strange. I can see why some might dislike it, might even react with one huge what-the-fuck. It starts off relatively normal, then drifts further and further into the surreal. Yet despite its small size, it manages to encompass so much - returning to childhood setting, family tragedy, the selling out of ideals, ecology, the monetisation of ecology, Colombian mentality and violence, and much, much more. And the weirdness - let's not forget about it.
On top of it all, a brilliant translation by Katarzyna Okrasko and an absolutely phenomenal cover by Ula Pągowska.
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