Synopses & Reviews
Oscar was a child when his brother committed suicide in the Presidential Palace. Thirty years later, he returns as the official writer of Presidential speeches, in a time of social upheaval, trying to find a reason for his brothers suicide and the words to appease the people. Edmundo Paz Soldáns fast-paced narrative introduces us to the end of an era in the history of Bolivia, bringing to life the perverse connection between power and violence, the role (or lack of it) of the word in the transformation of a nation, and the redemption that occurs with the acceptance of responsibilities.
Synopsis
When Oscar begins working at the Palacio Quemado as a speechwriter for the president of Bolivia, he meets Natalia, another government worker, who helps him to see the pervasive corruption and to understand his brother's suicide thirty years before.
Synopsis
Cuando Oscar era apenas un nino, su padre trabajaba en el Palacio presidencial. Fue en ese mismo Palacio que Felipe, su hermano mayor, decidio suicidarse. Treinta anos despues, Oscar vuelve al Palacio convertido en escritor de discursos del presidente, en un periodo de convulsion social, y trata de descubrir el por que del suicidio de su hermano y buscar las palabras con las cuales apaciguar los animos exaltados del pueblo. Esta es una novela sobre la perversa relacion entre el poder y la violencia, sobre el peso (o no) de la palabra para transformar un pais, y sobre la redencion a traves de la asuncion de responsabilidades. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Oscar was a child when his brother committed suicide in the Presidential Palace. Thirty years later, he returns as the official writer of Presidential speeches, in a time of social upheaval, trying to find a reason for his brother's suicide and the words to appease the people. Edmundo Paz Soldan's fast-paced narrative introduces us to the end of an era in the history of Bolivia, bringing to life the perverse connection between power and violence, the role (or lack of it) of the word in the transformation of a nation, and the redemption that occurs with the acceptance of responsibilities.
Synopsis
A fast-paced narrative introduces the end of an era in the history of Bolivia, bringing to life the perverse connection between power and violence, the role (or lack of it) of the word in the transformation of a nation, and the redemption that occurs with the acceptance of responsibilities.