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The Sound of Things Falling

By Juan Gabriel Vásquez
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez delves into Colombia's turbulent past, intertwining personal lives with the country's historical drug conflicts. The novel follows the journey of a law professor who becomes entangled in a friend's mysterious past after surviving a violent incident. Through his quest, the book reveals the profound impact of violence on individual lives and the pervasive influence of history on personal narratives.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're intrigued by stories that delve deeply into personal and historical narratives, intertwining characters' lives with significant political and social upheavals. It's great for readers who appreciate rich, atmospheric storytelling and complex explorations of memory, loss, and the impact of Colombia's turbulent past.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Winner of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
Winner of the Alfaguara Prize
Winner of the Gregor von Rezzori Prize

'A powerful, humane novel about a man trying to make sense of a war he didn’t choose to fight' The Times

'The story is compelling but through Vásquez’s vivid prose (rendered brilliantly into English by the award-winning translator Anne McLean) it also becomes haunting … A poignant and perturbing tale about the inheritance of fear in a country scrabbling to regain its soul' Financial Times

No sooner does he get to know Ricardo Laverde in a seedy billiard hall in Bogotá than Antonio Yammara realises that the ex-pilot has a secret. Antonio's fascination with his new friend's life grows until the day Ricardo receives a mysterious, unmarked cassette.

Shortly afterwards, he is shot dead on a street corner.

Yammara's investigation into what happened leads back to the early 1960s, marijuana smuggling, and a time before the cocaine trade trapped Colombia in a living nightmare.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez is lauded for its powerful and humane storytelling, exploring themes of war and personal turmoil. The novel is praised for its compelling narrative and Vásquez's vivid prose, translated brilliantly by Anne McLean, which captures the haunting and poignant essence of the story. It skilfully navigates the inheritance of fear and the struggle of a country striving to restore its soul, earning recognition as a gripping psychological thriller and a reflection on Colombia's history.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781408831618

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 12 September 2013

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 24.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 232g

Pages: 320

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Juan Gabriel Vásquez Literary Fiction

About the Author

Juan Gabriel Vásquez was born in Bogotá in 1973. He studied Latin American literature at the Sorbonne between 1996 and 1998, and now lives in Barcelona. His stories have appeared in anthologies in Germany, France, Spain and Colombia, and he has translated works by E. M. Forster and Victor Hugo, amongst others, into Spanish. He was recently nominated as one of the Bogotá 39, South America's most promising writers of the new generation. His highly praised novel The Informers, the first of his books to be translated into English, has been published in eight languages worldwide.

Anne McLean has twice won the Independent Prize for Foreign Fiction: for Soldiers of Salamis by Javier Cercas in 2004 (which also won her the Valle Inclán Award) and for The Armies by Evelio Rosero in 2009.

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