Necropolis by Santiago Gamboa (Pub. date: July 15 2012)

I’ve just find out that Necropolis by Santiago Gamboa (winner of the 2009 La Otra Orilla Literary Award) will soon be available in English translated by Howard Curtis, published by Europa editions.

Book description: Upon recovering from a prolonged illness, an author is invited to a literary gathering in Jerusalem that turns out to be a most unusual affair. In the conference rooms of a luxury hotel, as bombs fall outside, at times too close for comfort, he listens to a series of extraordinary life stories: the saga of a chess-playing duo, the tale of an Italian porn star with a socialist agenda, the drama of a Colombian industrialist who has been waging a longstanding battle with local paramilitaries, and many more. But it is José Maturana—evangelical pastor, recovering drug addict, ex-con—with his story of redemption at the hands of a charismatic tattooed messiah from Miami, Florida, who fascinates the author more than any other. Maturana’s language is potent and vital, and his story captivating.
Hours after his stirring presentation to a rapt audience, however, Maturana is found dead in his hotel room. At first it seems likely that Maturana has taken his own life and everybody seems willing to accept this version of the story. But there are a few loose ends that don’t support the suicide hypothesis, and the author-invitee, moved by Maturana’s life story to discover the truth about his death, will lead an investigation that turns the entire plot of this chimerical novel on its end.
In Necropolis, Santiago Gamboa displays the talent and inventiveness that have earned him a reputation as one of the leading figures in his generation of Latin American authors. (Europa editions) 

Santiago Gamboa (Bogota, 1965) is unquestionably one of the figures in new Latin American fiction that has had the most impact on the international literary scene. He studied literature in Bogotá, Hispanic Philology in Madrid and Cuban literature at the Sorbonne in Paris. His debut as novelist came with the publication of Páginas de vuelta (Turned Pages) in 1995, making a name for himself as one of the most innovative voices working in new Colombian fiction. His works have been translated into more than ten languages. (Guillermo Schavelzon Agencia Literaria Barcelona)

You can read HERE an article by Santiago Gamboa: On the creation of a Colombian national identity through crime fiction. And an interview with Santiago Gamboa HERE.