David's Fans (5)

David Toscana

Author profile

born

Monterrey, Mexico

gender

male

About this author

edit data

David Toscana was born in Monterrey in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León in 1961. After leaving school, he qualified as an engineer and worked in Ciudad Juárez. He started to write at the age of 29. His literary influences, in terms of reading for enjoyment’s sake, were classic Spanish writers like Cervantes and Calderón as well as classic Russian writers, but in terms of the obsession with writing itself, he was influenced by the new Latin American writers Juan Carlos Onetti and José Donoso. David Toscana describes his narrative aesthetics as "realismo desquiciado" (Engl: unrestrained realism) which breaks with magic realism. Neither rhyme nor reason determine his protagonists’ actions – what goes on in their world takes place in th...more David Toscana was born in Monterrey in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León in 1961. After leaving school, he qualified as an engineer and worked in Ciudad Juárez. He started to write at the age of 29. His literary influences, in terms of reading for enjoyment’s sake, were classic Spanish writers like Cervantes and Calderón as well as classic Russian writers, but in terms of the obsession with writing itself, he was influenced by the new Latin American writers Juan Carlos Onetti and José Donoso. David Toscana describes his narrative aesthetics as "realismo desquiciado" (Engl: unrestrained realism) which breaks with magic realism. Neither rhyme nor reason determine his protagonists’ actions – what goes on in their world takes place in the imagination alone, albeit as an exchange between life and fiction unfolding on more than one level. "When writing, what is important for me is keeping an eye on the concrete experience of life", states the author, who puts himself in the place of his protagonists and strives to understand what is personally at risk for them so as to bring the situation back into the very uncertain realm of everyday life. He developed his literary sense for atmosphere through Onetti and Juan Rulfo, and for the lavishly strange through Donoso. Toscana’s first novel 'Las bicicletas' (Engl: The Bicycles) was published in 1992 and opened with the laconic sentence: "The path to the cemetery was long." He thereby immediately placed himself in the Mexican literary tradition that incorporates the death motif, which, as a regional writer, he sees as situated in the barren north. This was followed in 1995 by 'Estación Tula' (Engl: Tula Station, 2000), which was also translated into Arabic, English, Greek and Serbian. In 1997 he published the short-story volume 'Historias de Lontananza' (Engl: Stories of Distance), followed in 1998 by his third novel 'Santa María del Circo' (Engl: Our Lady of the Circus, 2001). His fourth and most recent novel 'Duelo por Miguel Pruneda' (Engl: Lament for Miguel Pruneda) appeared in 2002. International literary critics have praised his works of prose for the at times biting irony that gives authentic depth to the failure and solitude of his protagonists: "There is a very rich source in my region which no one else has really tapped, which is why I feel so good about working in my own storehouse, bringing forth lots of untold stories." Since July 2003 David Toscana has lived in Berlin, where he holds a guest scholarship from the DAAD.(less)

combine editions
Books by David Toscana

Average rating: 3.61 · 224 ratings · 27 reviews · 8 distinct works

	El último Lector 3.94 avg rating — 49 ratings — published 2004 — 8 editions	My rating:
	El Ejército Iluminado 3.89 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 2006 — 4 editions	My rating:
	Our Lady of the Circus by David Toscana, Patricia J. Duncan (Translator) 3.36 avg rating — 58 ratings — published 1998 — 4 editions	My rating:
	Los Puentes De Konigsberg / Konigsberg's Bridges 4.31 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2009	My rating:
	Tula Station: A Novel by David Toscana, Patricia J. Duncan (Translation) 3.31 avg rating — 36 ratings — published 1995 — 6 editions	My rating:
	Lontananza 3.27 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 1997 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Duelo Por Manuel Pruneda 3.50 avg rating — 12 ratings — 3 editions	My rating:
	Las bicicletas 2.20 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1992	My rating:

More books by David Toscana…

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

Quotes by David Toscana

“People don't always go down in history for the vigor with which they perform their jobs. We remember Louis the Fifteenth . . . for his furniture; we remember Pierre Léotard, despite his being the greatest trapeze artist ever, for his leotard. The idea is to give your name to something, like the zeppelin, the newton, Morse code, the chicuelina.”
― David Toscana, Our Lady of the Circus

tags: fame

1 person liked it

“True or not, it's important to have stories ― they are what give us the right to walk the earth and have a name.”
― David Toscana, Our Lady of the Circus

tags: name , story

1 person liked it

“Hay juegos que debemos tomar en serio, como el poquer, ahi hay dinero de por medio. Pero la guerra? Es un chiste.”
― David Toscana, Los Puentes De Konigsberg / Konigsberg's Bridges

1 person liked it

See all David Toscana's quotes »

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite David to Goodreads.

David's Fans (5)

David Toscana

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by David Toscana

Upcoming Events

Quotes by David Toscana

combine editions
Books by David Toscana