
Severina
Rodrigo Rey Rosa(Author)
Yale University Press
Published on 25. February 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
112 pages
978-0-300-19609-2 (ISBN)
Description
A new translation of the Guatemalan author whom Roberto Bolano called "the most rigorous writer of my generation, the most transparent . . . the most luminous of all"
"Severina is impeccably written. . . . Read this great novel."-Luis Alonso Girgado, El Ideal Gallego
"Right from the start I picked her for a thief, although that day she didn't take anything. . . . I knew she'd be back," the narrator/bookseller of Severina recalls in this novel's opening pages. Imagine a dark-haired book thief as alluring as she is dangerous. Imagine the mesmerized bookseller secretly tracking the volumes she steals, hoping for insight into her character, her motives, her love life. In Rodrigo Rey Rosa's hands, this tale of obsessive love is told with breathless precision. The bookstore owner is soon entangled in Severina's mystery: seductive and peripatetic, of uncertain nationality, she steals books to actually read them and to share with her purported grandfather, Senor Blanco.
In this unsettling exploration of the alienating and simultaneously liberating power of love, the bookseller's monotonous existence is rocked by the enigmatic Severina. As in a dream, the disoriented man finds that the thin border between rational and irrational is no longer reliable. Severina confirms Rey Rosa's privileged place in contemporary world literature.
"Severina is impeccably written. . . . Read this great novel."-Luis Alonso Girgado, El Ideal Gallego
"Right from the start I picked her for a thief, although that day she didn't take anything. . . . I knew she'd be back," the narrator/bookseller of Severina recalls in this novel's opening pages. Imagine a dark-haired book thief as alluring as she is dangerous. Imagine the mesmerized bookseller secretly tracking the volumes she steals, hoping for insight into her character, her motives, her love life. In Rodrigo Rey Rosa's hands, this tale of obsessive love is told with breathless precision. The bookstore owner is soon entangled in Severina's mystery: seductive and peripatetic, of uncertain nationality, she steals books to actually read them and to share with her purported grandfather, Senor Blanco.
In this unsettling exploration of the alienating and simultaneously liberating power of love, the bookseller's monotonous existence is rocked by the enigmatic Severina. As in a dream, the disoriented man finds that the thin border between rational and irrational is no longer reliable. Severina confirms Rey Rosa's privileged place in contemporary world literature.
Reviews / Votes
"The Guatemalan writer focuses his energy on the subtle elements of his style: the speed, exactitude and concise beauty of his prose, combined with the refined flow of his narratives, continue to recommend him as a young master in the art of saying more with less."-Gustavo Guerrero, Letras Libres"I, without false modesty, am happy to admit that I have read all of [Rodrigo Rey Rosa's] work. . . . A novel of love and passion that leaves the reader in constant suspense, Severina is impeccably written, with an exact and precise narrative told through a serene, refined prose style. Read this great novel."-Luis Alonso Girgado, El Ideal Gallego
"Rodrigo Rey Rosa's oeuvre is characterized by the singular majesty of his stories and short pieces. . . . [His] surprising sobriety and economy of words have become legendary, and with reason. Severina affirms the career of a writer who seems to know very clearly who he is and what he intends to produce."-Ricardo Baixeras, El Periodico
"This short novel is indicative of its author's return to his origins, to his early stories that dazzled Paul Bowles, who translated his first three books into English."-Diario de Pontevedra
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 8 mm
Weight
136 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-19609-2 (9780300196092)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Rodrigo Rey Rosa
Severina
E-Book
02/2014
1st Edition
Yale University Press
€19.95
Available for download
Persons
Rodrigo Rey Rosa is a Guatemalan writer whose work has been widely translated and internationally acclaimed. His books Dust on Her Tongue, The Beggar's Knife, and The Pelcari Project were translated into English by the late Paul Bowles. Chris Andrews teaches at the University of Western Sydney and is a prize-winning poet. He has translated the works of numerous Latin American authors, among them Roberto Bolano and Cesar Aira.