Monastery
Published on 27. November 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-1-934137-82-6 (ISBN)
Description
The nomadic odyssey of Eduardo Halfon continues as he searches for clues about his identity across Central America and Europe, New York and Jerusalem
In Monastery, Eduardo Halfon's eponymous wanderer travels from Guatemalan cities, villages, coffee plantations, and border towns to a private jazz concert in Harlem, a former German U-Boat base on the French Breton coast, and Israel, where he escapes from his sister's Orthodox Jewish wedding into an erotic adventure with the enigmatic Tamara. His passing encounters are unforgettable; his relationships, problematic. At once a world citizen and a writer who mistrusts the power of language, he is pursued by history's ghosts and unanswerable questions. He is a cartographer of identity on a compelling journey to an uncertain destination. As he draws and redraws his boundaries, he confronts us with the limitations of our own.
In Monastery, Eduardo Halfon's eponymous wanderer travels from Guatemalan cities, villages, coffee plantations, and border towns to a private jazz concert in Harlem, a former German U-Boat base on the French Breton coast, and Israel, where he escapes from his sister's Orthodox Jewish wedding into an erotic adventure with the enigmatic Tamara. His passing encounters are unforgettable; his relationships, problematic. At once a world citizen and a writer who mistrusts the power of language, he is pursued by history's ghosts and unanswerable questions. He is a cartographer of identity on a compelling journey to an uncertain destination. As he draws and redraws his boundaries, he confronts us with the limitations of our own.
Reviews / Votes
Select Praise for MonasteryBest Translated Book Award Longlist
"A moving, reflective, and humbly resounding work of fiction. . . . As an ambassador of both worldly wonder and sublime storytelling, Eduardo Halfon's Monastery, despite its brevity, is truly a marvel." -Best Translated Book Award Longlist citation
More Praise for Eduardo Halfon
"One of the most talented and exciting writers of our time." -Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa
"Halfon is a brilliant storyteller." -Daniel Alarcon
"Halfon's prose is as delicate, precise, and ineffable as precocious art, a lighthouse that illuminates everything." -Francisco Goldman
"It is not often that one encounters such a mix of personal engagement and literary passion, or pain and tenderness." -Andres Neuman
"Elegant." -Marie Claire
"Engrossing." -NBC Latino
"Fantastic." -NPR Alt.Latino
"Revelatory." -New York Times Book Review
"Deeply accessible, deeply moving." -Los Angeles Times
"Offer[s] surprise and revelation at every turn." -Reader's Digest
"One senses Kafka's ghost, along with Bolano's, lingering in the shadows. . . . [Halfon's] books, which take on such dark subjects, are so enjoyable to read." -New York Review of Books
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 188 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
159 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-934137-82-6 (9781934137826)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Eduardo Halfon is the author of The Polish Boxer, Monastery, Mourning, Cancion, and Tarantula. He is the recipient of the Guatemalan National Prize in Literature, International Latino Book Award, Edward Lewis Wallant Award, and Berman Literature Prize, among many other honors. A citizen of Guatemala and Spain, Halfon was born in Guatemala City, attended school in Florida and North Carolina, and has lived in Nebraska, Spain, Paris, and Berlin.