Jorge Franco

Le han llovido las buenas críticas al Premio Alfaguara del Año 2014. Jorge Franco nos acerca un cuento de princesas ambientado en los años 60, en Medellín, Colombia. La historia, cuyo hilo argumental es disperso, gira entorno al secuestro de Don Diego, el padre de Isolda, una dulce niña que impregna de ternura no sólo las páginas de la novela, sino también el corazón de otros muchos. Como es el caso de El Mono, cabecilla de la banda del delito, poderosamente enamorado de la niña.

Lo show more cierto es que no he llegado a sentirme satisfecha con el desarrollo de la historia, ni tampoco con la narrativa de Jorge Franco. Está claro que la novela tiene calidad, atributos destacables y aplaudibles; pero también es verdad que en ningún punto me he olvidado de encontrarme leyendo una obra de ficción, poco verosímil en algunos puntos, y con saltos lineales que se me han atragantado un poco, porque rompían el hilo argumental.

De hecho, a pesar de tratarse de una novela relativamente breve, su lectura se me hizo lenta y me costó avanzarla. Algo en los diálogos de los personajes, en la forma descriptiva, no terminó de cuajar en mis gustos narrativos. No sé hasta que punto eso se trata de un problema mío personal, o que realmente la obra tiene esas carencias. No me creo capacitada para emitir un juicio de ese tipo, únicamente diré que me sentí bastante decepcionada en ese aspecto.

Como puntos positivos, puedo decir que las partes protagonizadas por Isolda denotan hermosura y belleza por doquier, para mí son las mejores con diferencia, muy superiores al resto de la obra narrativa. Suponen una ruptura a la fealdad del resto, una tibieza que, por desgracia, no he conseguido sentir en otros muchos tramos.

Se critica bastante los premios editoriales, con afán comercial. No creo que las páginas de 'El mundo de afuera' sean muy comerciales, lo cierto es que está muy alejado de serlo. Pero posiblemente, esta obra pasaría muy desapercibida si no fuera por el premio obtenido. show less

A young man, Marlon Cruz, leaves his native country Colombia to follow his very decisive girlfriend Reina to the USA, but he gets lost immediately upon arrival in New York. The book describes Marlon's desperate search for Reina, which is in a way also a quest for his own identity as an illegal immigrant, and as a Colombian, in New York.

This book is like a modern Odyssey, where a man searches for his homeland and his loved one, and grows wiser and stronger during the process. Ithaka here is show more not so much the native country, but a place in America where Marlon can be happy and accepted. And in the end, Ithaka is quite a different place than expected.

The structure of the book makes the story all the more interesting, as different time lines are intertwined. In the end it all comes together, and I could now relate it as a chronological story, but that's not how it is presented in the book. I thought it was a good read. The story is perhaps not that original, as there are many novels on the subject of (illegal) immigrants to the USA, trying to build up a life there, but I liked the non chronological way it was told, its rhythm, and the way the main character developed from a very scared boy to a somewhat mature and sympathetic person. The ending of the book left me with some questions, always a good way to let me think on about a book. show less

SHOOTING DOWN HEAVEN is a novel marred by an uneven narrative structure that relies too heavily on time and perspective shifts that add little and only seem to create confusion. Three subplots meander almost aimlessly between Larry’s shallow flirtation on a plane travelling from London to Medellin; an all-night alcohol and drug fueled reunion with old friends during the Alborada celebration in Medellin; and his struggles with his dysfunctional family. The backstory to all of this involves show more the seizure and eventual murder of Larry’s drug lord father 12 years previously following the assassination of his boss, Pablo Escobar. Subsequent to his escape from the Columbian drug violence, Larry is now returning to give his father’s remains a decent burial. He finds a much changed environment: his family no longer lives in the kind of luxury common to highly placed members of the drug cartel; they are now paranoid, depressed, substance and gambling dependent and seem delusional; his friends are in freefall living for their next party; and even his airplane dalliance is a lapsed alcoholic who also is returning to Columbia to bury her own father.

To his credit, Franco succeeds with some interesting characterizations, especially Larry’s determined but deluded former beauty queen mother, Fernanda, and his aimless druggy friend, Pedro. However, his dead father, Libardo and his estranged older brother Julio remain obscure. The dark legacies of greed and violence for a country and a family is indeed a worthy theme but its treatment here is anything but clear or uplifting. show less

Great storytelling of love and tragedy. Great beginning hook that is maintained to the very end. "Como a Rosarion le pegaron un tiro a quemarropa mientras le daban un beso, confundio el dolor del amor con el de la muerte". One of those books that you wish would not end.