Told with a wonderfully understated self-awareness, this novel follows the author’s trajectory of researching and writing the mysterious story of Rafael Sanchez Mazas, a prisoner during the Spanish Civil War who cheated death twice in one day. Incredibly, the author Roberto Bolano turns up as a character in the novel when Cercas seeks him out for help in completing the novel! A moving portrait of Bolano, who tells Cercas to forget about finding the truth and just make up the details.

posted Feb 14, 2013 at 11:06AM

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