Cafe Lobby Book Celebration of Andean Express
Writer Juan de Recacoechea and translator Adrian Althoff
Wednesday April 29, 2009
Donations Accepted - 7pm
Cafe Lobby Event: Meet the Author. Award-winning Bolivian writer Juan de Recacoechea and translator Adrian Althoff will mark the publication of Andean Express, Recacoechea’s second novel in English translation, with a special event at Café Valparaíso located at La Peña Cultural Center. The presentation will include a video clip that illuminates the social and political context of the book.
With his first novel published in English translation, American Visa (2007), which was also made into a feature-length film, and now with Andean Express, Recacoechea has cemented his reputation as a consummate storyteller in the classic noir tradition and a discerning chronicler of contemporary Bolivian society.
In Andean Express, Recacoechea demonstrates a rare talent for describing dark deeds with a light touch, expertly weaving sinister plot twists and elements of comedy and tragedy into a fast-paced yarn. Featuring an eclectic cast of characters traveling on an overnight train through the high Andes from La Paz to the Chilean coast, Andean Express makes for an irreverent and riveting journey.
Critical praise for Andean Express:
-“More Camus than mystery thriller, [Andean Express] delights like strong coffee savored in a cosmopolitan cafe.” – Publisher’s Weekly
-“It's the interchange between the characters that's at the heart of [Andean Express]. De Recacoechea has touches of the old noir masters like Jim Thompson, but the voice is uniquely his…" - The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Critical praise for American Visa:
-“Dark and quirky, a revealing excursion to a place over which ‘the gringos’ to the north always loom.” – The New York Times Book Review
-“Beautifully written, atmospheric, and stylish in the manner of Chandler… a smart, exotic crime fiction offering.” –George Pelecanos, author of The Turnaround
