Jaguars' Tomb - by Angélica Gorodischer (Paperback)

About the Book

The first English translation of an innovative novel about art, absence, and memory--from an Argentine literary visionary

Book Synopsis

Winner of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute Translation Prize, 2022

Jaguars' Tomb is a novel in three parts, written by three interconnected characters. Part one, "Hidden Variables" by María Celina Igarzábal, is narrated by Bruno Seguer. Seguer in turn is the author of the second part, "Recounting from Zero" ("Contar desde zero"), in which Evelynne Harrington, author of the third, is a central character. Harrington, finally, is the author of "Uncertainty" ("La incertidumbre"), whose protagonist is the dying Igarzábal. Each of the three parts revolves around the octagonal room that is alternately the jaguars' tomb, the central space of the torture center, and the heart of an abandoned house that hides an adulterous affair.

The novel, by Argentine author Angélica Gorodischer, is both an intriguing puzzle and a meditation on how to write about, or through, violence, injustice, and loss. Among Gorodischer's many novels, Jaguars' Tomb most directly addresses the abductions and disappearances that occurred under the Argentine military dictatorship of 1976-83. This is the fourth of Gorodischer's books translated into English. The first, Kalpa Imperial--translated by Ursula Le Guin--was selected for the New York Times summer reading list in 2003.

Review Quotes

"One of the highest points of Gorodischer's poetic art."
--Book Radar

"The whole novel can only be read as a poetic of writing, an institutional attempt to create a new world."
--Adrián Ferrero, National University of La Plata

About the Author

Angélica Gorodischer is the Argentine author of seventeen novels and several story collections. Gorodischer's literary awards include the Gilgamesh Prize; the Platinum Konex; the Dignity Award from the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights; the Silvina Bullrich Award from the Argentina Writers' Society; and the Esteban Echeverría Award from Gente de Letras, Argentina. Her work has previously been translated into English by Ursula K. Le Guin, Sue Burke, and Amalia Gladhart.

Amalia Gladhart is a professor of Spanish at the University of Oregon.