Andean Express Paperback by Juan de Recacoechea; Adrian Althoff

Product Details

• Publisher: Akashic Books, Ltd. (2009-04-07)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 176 pages
• ISBN-13: 9781933354729
• Item Weight: 368.55 grams
• Dimensions: 0.0 x 0.0 x 0.0 cm

Bolivia’s preeminent fiction writer eclipses the successful English translation of American Visa with a riveting murder mystery. Translated by Adrian Althoff.

“More Camus than mystery thriller, [Andean Express] delights like strong coffee savored in a cosmopolitan cafe.” —Publishers Weekly

Set in 1952, Andean Express is the story of a tragic overnight train journey that unfolds in an environment at once carnivalesque and sinister. Beginning near La Paz, Bolivia, the austere Andean plateau serves as a surreal backdrop for most of the trip before giving way to a winding descent to the Chilean coast. Ricardo Beintigoitia, a recent high school graduate from a prosperous La Paz family, unwittingly becomes ensnared in the personal drama of one of his peers, a captivating girl named Gulietta Carletti who has been forced into an arranged marriage with a man she despises.

On the Andean Express, everybody wants something and no one is exactly who he seems. Recacoechea’s lean, elegant prose crackles with sharp dialogue and entertaining exchanges among a disparate cast of characters, each with his own ax to grind. The train is a microcosm of Bolivia itself, with people from all walks of life, from peasants to politicians, forming a circus of personalities and intrigue in which tragedy seems inevitable, and improbable liaisons become reality.

About the Author

JUAN DE RECACOECHEA (1935-2017) was born in La Paz, Bolivia, and worked as a journalist in Europe for almost twenty years. After returning to his native country, he helped found Bolivia’s first state-run television network and dedicated himself to fiction writing. He's the author of the novels American Visa, which won Bolivia’s National Book Prize and was adapted into an award-winning film, and Andean Express. Both American Visa and Andean Express were translated into English and published by Akashic Books.

Adrian Althoff is a freelance journalist and translator.