Los ejércitos. (The Military)

Reviewed by Andrea Montejo, NY -- Críticas, 6/1/2007

Acclaimed Colombian author Rosero has published two short story collections and seven novels, including El incendiado (1988), which won the Pedro Gómez Valderrama Award for best Colombian novel of the year. In 2006, he went on to win the Colombian National Literature Award, and for this, his eighth novel, he was awarded the first Premio Tusquets Editores de Novela at last year’s Guadalajara International Book Fair. This is the story of Ismael, a retired professor who lives with his wife, Otilia, in the small town of San José, tucked away in the verdant mountains of Colombia. For 40 years they have lived peacefully there, but then the violence that has ravaged the entire country comes to their door. Neighbors start to disappear at every corner, ransoms are demanded, and uniformed men—who could belong to the army, the guerrillas, or the paramilitaries—stroll down the streets terrorizing the town and changing it forever. With undeniable elegance and a masterly command of the Spanish language, Rosero offers a profound exploration of human life in the face of irrational violence. From Ismael’s seductive neighbor Geraldina, whose husband and children have disappeared, to Claudino Alfaro, the town’s old healer, to the empanada street vendor whose voice fills the streets as he calls “Oyeee” to the passersby, the powerful cast of characters that populates this novel is deeply moving and will continue to haunt readers long after the last page is turned. Highly recommended for bookstores, academic libraries, and public libraries with a large Spanish-language fiction collection.