The Night Will Be Long
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- €10.99
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- €10.99
Publisher Description
***A CRIME READS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR***
An addictive and nuanced narrative about conflict-rife Colombia.
A boy witnesses a violent confrontation in a remote part of town in the state of Cauca, Colombia. Minutes later, someone arrives at the scene to clear up all trace of the incident. No one in town claims to have heard or seen anything, and yet an anonymous accusation launches a dangerous investigation that unfolds within the corrupt world of the Christian churches of Latin America. A story that urgently reveals inequality and violence that govern an entire country, The Night Will Be Long is a devastatingly humorous thriller that will appeal to fans of Roberto Bolaño and Fernanda Melchor's Hurricane Season.
Santiago Gamboa's fascinating characters introduce an addictive and nuanced narrative about conflict-rife Colombia.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This intelligent police procedural from Gamboa (Necropolis) refracts decades of turbulent Colombian history through the experiences of dramatically drawn characters. When freelance journalist Julieta Lezama travels to Tierradentro in southern Colombia to investigate a fatal firefight, she finds the site wiped clean of evidence and the local authorities claiming ignorance of the incident. Working with Bogotá prosecutor general Edilson Jutsiñamuy, Julieta traces a trail of clues to two evangelical Christian churches active in the country, New Jerusalem and the Assembly of God, and the long-term animus between their pastors, Fritz Almayer and Fabinho Henriquez. Her probing elicits suspicions—Almayer's record is "cleaner than a porcelain Christ," but it only goes back 15 years; Brazilian Henriquez also operates gold mines and retains armed security—while excavating the country's myriad social and political upheavals of the late 20th century, including the rise of the FARC revolutionary guerrilla group, the surge of paramilitary forces and gangsterism, the onslaught of kidnappings and disappearances, and incidents that emphasize the gross disparity in means between the wealthy and the poor. The characters relate their personal histories at length, which, though narratively intrusive, adds depth to the experiences they describe. It adds up to a colorful story with solid grounding in historical detail.
