Venezuela
Rómulo Gallegos Romulo Gallegos is best known for being Venezuela's first democratically elected president. But in his native land he is equally famous as a writer responsible for one of Venezuela's literary treasures, the novel Dona Barbara. Published in 1929 and all but forgotten by Anglophone readers, Dona Barbara is one of the first examples of magical realism, laying the groundwork for later authors such as Gabriel Garcia M Marquez and Mario Vargas Llosa.
Reserve for Curbside pickup at Library ➤ Doña Barbara Following the epic struggle between two cousins for an estate in Venezuela, Dona Barbara is an examination of the conflict between town and country, violence and intellect, male and female. The title character, Dona Barbara, is a beautiful and mysterious woman rumored to be a witch with a ferocious power over men. When her cousin Santos Luzardo returns to the plains in order to reclaim his land and cattle, he reluctantly faces off against Dona Barbara, and their battle becomes simultaneously one of violence and seduction.
Spanish-language e-book available through WVDeli ➤ Doña Barbara
Peru
Mario Vargas Llosa Peru's foremost author, Mario Vargas Llosa's commitment to social change is evident in his novels, plays, and essays. In 1990 he was an unsuccessful candidate for president of Peru. Vargas Llosa was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat."
Reserve for Curbside pickup at Library ➤ Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977) Reality merges with fantasy in this hilarious comic novel about the world of radio soap operas and the pitfalls of forbidden passion. Interweaving ever-more-fevered tales, Vargas Llosa's novel is mischievous and masterful, a classic named one of the best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review. ➤ The War of the End of the World (1984) Set in nineteenth-century Brazil, and based on a real episode in Brazilian history, this novel is the story of an apocalyptic movement led by a mysterious prophet to establish another republic: Canudos, whose citizens are all the damned of the earth, the prostitutes, bandits, and beggars who flee to the Brazilian frontier. ➤ The Feast of the Goat (2001) In this "masterpiece of Latin American and world literature, and one of the finest political novels ever written" (Bookforum), Mario Vargas Llosa recounts the end of a regime and the birth of a terrible democracy, giving voice to the historical dictator Rafael Trujillo and the victims, both innocent and complicit, drawn into his deadly orbit. Trujillo, the depraved ailing dictator whom Dominicans call the Goat, controls his inner circle with a combination of violence and blackmail. In Trujillo's gaudy palace, treachery and cowardice have become a way of life. But Trujillo's grasp is slipping. There is a conspiracy against him, and a Machiavellian revolution already underway that will have bloody consequences of its own. ➤ View all Dueñas books available at the Library
Available through WVDeli ➤ Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter Interweaving ever-more-fevered tales, Vargas Llosa's novel is hilarious, mischievous, and masterful, a classic named one of the best books of 1977 by the New York Times Book Review.
Brazil
Paulo Coelho Known for employing rich symbolism in his depictions of the often spiritually motivated journeys taken by his characters, Brazilian author Paulo Coelho is considered one of the most influential authors of our times. His books have sold more than 165 million copies worldwide, have been released in 170 countries and been translated into 80 languages.
Reserve for Curbside pickup at Library ➤ The Alchemist (1988) - regular print ➤ The Alchemist - audiobook on CD Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams. ➤ View all Coelho books available at the Library
Available through WVDeli ➤ View all Coelho e-books available ➤ View all Coelho audiobooks available
Available through Hoopla - no waitlists ➤ View all Coelho e-books available ➤ View all Coelho audiobooks available
Chile
Isabel Allende Chilean writer Isabel Allende, whose works often contain aspects of the genre magical realism, was one of the first successful women novelists from Latin America and has been called "the world's most widely read Spanish-language author." She is the goddaughter of Salvador Allende, the first socialist president of Chile who was her father's cousin. Allende's life was forever changed when General Augusto Pinochet led a military coup in 1973, toppling Salvador Allende's government. During an attack on the presidential palace, Salvador Allende was shot and killed. (After decades of controversy surrounding the cause of his death, an autopsy confirmed in 2011 that it was a suicide.) Isabel Allende became active in aiding victims of the repression and brutality of Pinochet's regime, but realizing it was dangerous to stay in Chile, she fled the country with her husband and two children in 1975 and lived in exile in Venezuela for 13 years. The author calls her writing style "realistic literature, rooted in her remarkable upbringing and the mystical people and events that fueled her imagination," and explains that her work is "equally informed by her feminist convictions, her commitment to social justice, and the harsh political realities that shaped her destiny."
Reserve for Curbside pickup at Library ➤ The House of Spirits (1985) In 1981, Allende began writing a letter to her grandfather, who was dying in Chile. The letter became the basis for her first novel, The House of the Spirits (1985), which became a worldwide bestseller and launched her literary career. The novel tells the story of two families living in Chile from the 1920s until the 1973 military coup, weaving together elements of magical realism and political testimony. The House of the Spirits is the magnificent epic of the Trueba family—their loves, their ambitions, their spiritual quests, their relations with one another, and their participation in the history of their times, a history that becomes destiny and overtakes them all. ➤ Inés of My Soul (2006) A magisterial work of historical fiction, Inés of My Soul chronicles the astonishing life of a daring Spanish conquistadora who toiled to build the nation of Chile-and whose vital role has too often been neglected by history. Meticulously researched, it engagingly dramatizes the known events of the real-life Inés Suárez's, crafting them into a novel full of the narrative brilliance and passion readers have come to expect from Isabel Allende. ➤ My Invented Country: a nostalgic journey through Chile (non-fiction, 2003) A highly personal memoir of exile and homeland, filled with the wit, melancholy and distinctive voice that have charmed readers of her fiction, in My Invented Country Allende acknowledges the role of memory and nostalgia in shaping her life, her books, and her very connection to that most intimate place of origin. Allende revisits the imaginary Chile of her childhood and young adult years as well as the real one that exists today. She evokes the magnificent landscapes of the country, a charming, idiosyncratic Chilean people with a violent history and indomitable spirit, and the politics, religion, myth, and magic of her homeland that she carries with her. ➤ View all Allende books available at the Library
E-books and audiobooks available through WVDeli ➤ View all Allende e-books available ➤ View all Allende audiobooks available
E-books and audiobooks available through Hoopla - no waitlists ➤ View all Allende e-books available ➤ View all Allende audiobooks available
Roberto Bolaño Roberto Bolaño (1953—2003) was a Chilean author who was one of the leading South American literary figures at the turn of the 21st century. Although he became a well-known and critically hailed author in Spanish-speaking countries following the publication of Los Detectives Salvajes (1998), Bolaño was not widely translated until after his death. His worldwide literary reputation was made with the posthumous publication of his magnum opus, 2666 (2004).
Reserve for Curbside pickup at Library ➤ The Savage Detectives (1998) This dazzling novel that established Bolano's international reputation is the story of two modern-day Quixotes—the last survivors of an underground literary movement, perhaps of literature itself—on a tragicomic quest through their darkening world.
Audiobooks available through WVDeli ➤ The Savage Detectives ➤ The Third Reich (2010 - posthumous) War-games champion Udo Berger and his girlfriend Ingeborg are on holiday. There they meet another vacationing German couple, Charly and Hanna, and a band of shady locals. They have fun, see the sights, relax. Then, late one night, Charly disappears without a trace. The Third Reich is a stunning exploration of memory and violence. Reading this quick, visceral novel, we see a world-class writer coming into his own. ➤ 2666 (2004 - posthumous) Composed in the last years of Roberto Bolaño's life, 2666 was greeted across Europe and Latin America as his most brilliant achievement, surpassing even his previous work in its strange beauty, daring experimentation, and epic scope. The book's subject matter ranges from the heady heights of literature and love to the gritty realism of violence and death as it explores how humans make sense of senseless events. Its throng of unforgettable characters includes academics and convicts, writers, and cops, pursuing their own separate yet interrelated quests for meaning.
Ebooks and audiobooks available through Hoopla - no waitlists ➤ View all Bolaño audiobooks available
Argentina
Jorge Luis Borges Literary critics have described Jorge Luis Borges as Latin America's monumental writer. An Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, and a key figure in Spanish language literature, his work embraces the "character of unreality in all literature". His best-known works are compilations of short stories interconnected by common themes, including dreams, labyrinths, libraries, mirrors, fictional writers, philosophy, and religion.
Reserve for Curbside pickup at Library ➤ Collected Fictions These enigmatic, elaborate, imaginative inventions display Borges' talent for turning fiction on its head by playing with form and genre and toying with language. Together these incomparable works comprise the perfect compendium for all those who have long loved Borges, and a superb introduction to the master's work for those who have yet to discover this singular genius. ➤ View all Borges books available at the Library
Ebooks and audiobooks available through Hoopla - no waitlists ➤ View all Borges books available
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