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This is a stunning gem of a spare novel that delivers a punch through a turning of a phrase and the emotional intensity of the multiple narrators. I was attracted to this book by its photograph-like cover and the anticipation of reading a story set primarily in Bolivar. While the storyline is steeped in politics hovering in the background, it is the emotional turbulence of the characters as revealed by the narrators about themselves and other characters that had me intrigued as I read this this
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I picked this slender novel up in my search for Bolivian fiction in English and the two hours it took to read were definitely time well spent. It's a fictionalized glimpse into the real-life Ertl family, from 1955 until the 1990s .Hans Ertl was a German cinematographer who worked on Leni Riefenstahl's infamous 1936 Olympics productions, and spent WWII following Field Marshal Rommel around various theaters of war. Blacklisted in the post-war film industry for his significant ties to the Nazis (al
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I can't speak to the historic accuracy of this, but as a piece of fiction, it really works. It's rare that an author can say so much in so few words. In Hasbún's case, he made short sketches of a family's life appear more epic than some 700+ page tomes I've read.
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