Fiction

3 Recent Latin American Novels For Fans of Literary Fiction

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Rabeea Saleem

Staff Writer

Rabeea is a Karachi-based writer. Her two vices are cricket and literature. Book critic for various international publications including Chicago Review of Books, Irish Times and The National. She can be reached at rabeea.reviews@gmail.com.

From One Hundred Years of Solitude to The Alchemist, Latin America has given us some of the most renowned bestsellers of our era. As someone whose all time favourite writers include Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez, I am always interested in new literature coming out of South America. If you love Latin American literature as much as I do, then you sure will enjoy these engrossing new novels which manage to be at once politically astute and thrilling.

The Neighborhood by Mario Vargas LlosaThe Neighborhood by Mario Vargas Llosa (Faber)

Nobel laureate and Latin America’s most venerated living writers Vargas Llosa marks his return to fiction with a stellar politically charged mystery. In his trademark style, he delivers a knotty detective novel which also serves as a scorching commentary on the Fujimori’s regime. Sophisticated yet imbued with gritty realism, this captivating thriller takes us through the underbelly of Peruvian privilege.

The Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel VasquezThe Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel Vasquez (MacLehose Press)

The latest novel from the acclaimed Colombian writer is a multilayered political thriller about how Colombian politics continues to be haunted by its violent past. This labyrinthine story interweaves conspiracy theories, riots and assassinations in a sophisticated page turner.

In the Distance with You by Carla GuelfenbeinIn the Distance with You by Carla Guelfenbein (Other Press)

Fans of literary fiction will enjoy this atmospheric Chilean mystery. The story revolves around a cult novelist, inspired by Clarice Lispector, and the lives of several characters that are intertwined with the writer.