Fernando Vallejo

Telling of his love affair with Alexis, a young teenager from Medellín (one of the poorest and most violent neighbourhood in Colombia) the narrator does more than delivering a sensual novel, woven with homo-erotic passion. He gives us to see how life is in such an area, where drug lords rule unchallenged, politicians are powerless, police absent or useless, and the entire society in agony -tightly embraced by poverty, violence and death.

Alexis is a 'sicario', one of these countless kids show more without childhood and who will never grow up, cruising streets with guns, spreading terror and killing not only to survive, but, also, to satisfy their ego, when not for reasons as futile as a radio played too loud or a single pair of shoes.

With a laconic writing style made of revolts barely restrained, we are plunged here into a crazy and horrible reality; a reality we struggle to believe it actually affects the narrator, he who blindly follows Alexis in his murderous path in the name of love.

A chilling novel. show less

A very sad, sad story about a horrible situation but the way it was told with the first person narrative of the old grammarian made the violence less so and easier to accept. It did not inspire any desire to visit Columbia because that would be scary if this book has any bearing on truth and this book is not couched in any magical realism.

"And three of the onlookers in the crowd sticking up for him. They were the kind of champions of 'human rights', or delinquents' rights, who spring up show more spontaneously around here and lay claim to that 'defender of the people' role instituted by the new Constitution convoked by the idiot queer."

"The policeman, on of those ultra-young rookies they're recruiting these days to cast into the lions' den unarmed and with their hands tied by the whoremongering of the law, didn't know what to say or what to do."

"...protected by the cowardly boldness of the mob, were apparently ready to apparently let themselves be killed, if it were apparently necessary, by a man who carried no weapons."

It was interesting to learn that the narrator's name is the same as the authors "Fernando". The narrator was gone and is now returned. In his diatribe we are introduced to such topics as Columbia's president, the drug culture, priests, communists, sociologists, television, and soccer". It is a picture of social collapse, a "city where death rules supreme but where nobody will ever die of boredom." show less

That is a book that makes us question on how credible the main religions are. The author deals with topics such as the contradictions in the holy books, the violent history caused by the church upon the defense of nothing else but an economic interest, the adaptation of church to the ages only aiming at keeping the power regardless who the tyrant in shift is.
If your faith is weak keep away from reading it. However, if you are an atheist, this book will give you plenty of reasons to back up show more your lack of religious beliefs. show less

An angry man rants and raves about...everything...as he comes home to Colombia from Mexico, visiting his dear brother Dario one last time before his death from AIDS. From a huge family, he hates their mother, kind of misses their late father, has issues with various siblings. He reminisces about their wild and crazy days, their childhoods.

This book has no chapters, and I found it to largely be the rantings of an angry, sad, misogynistic gay man from a huge family. It was an exhausting read.