Crocodilopolis - by John Manuel Arias (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A darkly intoxicating novel, at once mythic and wickedly contemporary...Here is a writer in full command of his world, delivering a ferocious meditation on masculinity, legacy, and national myth through an audacious, unforgettable book." --Ocean Vuong, the New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor of Gladness and On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

From the author of national bestseller Where There Was Fire comes a gripping tale of sibling rivalry, family secrets, and the fate of a nation.

Book Synopsis

"A darkly intoxicating novel, at once mythic and wickedly contemporary...Here is a writer in full command of his world, delivering a ferocious meditation on masculinity, legacy, and national myth through an audacious, unforgettable book." --Ocean Vuong, the New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor of Gladness and On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

From the author of national bestseller Where There Was Fire comes a gripping tale of sibling rivalry, family secrets, and the fate of a nation.

Once a powerful, cold-blooded politician in Costa Rica, Seth Oreamundo is now living in exile in Washington, DC - and his younger brother Osario is to blame. Born into a corrupt political dynasty and raised on a seemingly idyllic coffee estate, the Oreamundo brothers were destined for greatness. But a dark family secret and a scandalous double crossing sent their lives into a tailspin, changing the country forever.

Osario must pay, and Seth decides the only way to do so is to return home to Costa Rica and feed his brother to the infamous river of crocodiles from their childhood. What follows is a spellbinding story of revenge alternating between Seth's murderous plans and memories of the brothers' upbringing. With the wisdom of biblical myth and the soapy wit of a telenovela, Crocodilopolis is a masterful interrogation of power, masculinity, destiny, and legacy from a literary star on the rise.

Review Quotes

"Brotherhood! Masculinity! Unhinged, extravagant revenge plans! John Manuel Arias's sophomore novel is sharp, hungry, and full of teeth." --McKayla Coyle, Literary Hub "Most Anticipated Books of 2026"

"Arias's novel follows the quest for revenge and juxtaposes it with the brothers' upbringing in this fantastic new novel." --Emily Burack and Adam Rathe, Town and Country

"A book that combines the goofiness of a telenovela, the brother-against-brother mythos of the Bible and the bonkers mayhem of death by crocodile? Bring it on ... Arias, whose Where There Was Fire was about family drama on a banana plantation, knows this territory well." --Chris Hewitt, Minnesota Star Tribune

"[A] sprawling tale of wealth, power, privilege and madness ... This impressive novel lingered in my mind for days after I finished it." --Brian Tanguay, California Review of Books

"Crocodilopolis is a darkly intoxicating novel, at once mythic and wickedly contemporary. Through the feud of two brothers born into a corrupt political dynasty, Arias exposes how power mutates love into rivalry and destiny into violence. With lush yet exacting prose replete with humor and lyrical potency, here is a writer in full command of his world, delivering a ferocious meditation on masculinity, legacy, and national myth through an audacious, unforgettable book." --Ocean Vuong, New York Times bestselling author of THE EMPEROR OF GLADNESS and ON EARTH WE'RE BRIEFLY GOREOUS

"The tales John Manuel Arias spins are as gripping as they are stunningly written. A natural born storyteller of the highest order." --Justin Torres, National Book Award-winning author of BLACKOUTS

"In this beautiful novel Arias creates a journey both mythic and necessary in the here and now. There is destiny, there is beauty, there is loss. In Arias' work there is life in all its epic and intimate." --Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, National Book Award finalist and author of CHAIN GANG ALL-STARS

"The wonderful John Manuel Arias is bequeathing us-and Latine literature as a whole-his wildly imaginative second novel, Crocodilopolis. It's a high-octane cocktail of obsession, fraternal revenge, Costa Rican politics, and yes, crocodiles. Lots of crocodiles. What could go wrong? Read this romp of a tale to find out!" --Cristina Garcia, author of VANISHING MAPS

"A lush, ambitious take on Cain and Abel intertwined with the rich history of Costa Rica." --Silvia Moreno-Garcia, author of THE BEWITCHING and MEXICAN GOTHIC

"Arias sets up a gripping tale that dramatizes the ways family bonds can wither and disintegrate, leaving resentment and even more potent emotions in their absence ... Arias wields the power of myth ... reflecting how the rivalry he depicts is as ancient as the crocodiles that lurk within the novel. Though Seth and Osario are humans with human hang-ups-like unloving parents and unfulfilled ambitions-in the stories they tell themselves, they are made, if only in their own eyes, into gods." --BookPage

"A Costa Rican dynasty's lust for power drives this lush and suspenseful saga ... Arias remains in control to the very end of this un-put-downable novel." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Arias offers a blood-soaked family drama that invites reflection on both Costa Rican and contemporary U.S. politics. "Costa Rica is its own myth," he suggests, in a brief poetic aside. "Costa Rica is Costa Rica," suggests another." --Booklist

About the Author