Jul 29 2022
LOCAL>> Fairfax Bilingual Book Club/ Club de Lectura Bilingüe: 'The Night' by Rodrigo Blanco Calderon

LOCAL>> Fairfax Bilingual Book Club/ Club de Lectura Bilingüe: 'The Night' by Rodrigo Blanco Calderon

Presented by Fairfax Library and Marin County Free Library at Streaming Arts

Unase a nosotros este mes para leer el libro The Night by Rodrigo Blanco Calderon

Join our new bilingual book club for Spanish speakers and Spanish language learners! Our discussions take place in Spanish and English.

New members are always welcome. We have copies of the book available in both English and Spanish. Email macriscriollo@gmail.com for more information or to register!

Les invitamos a nuestro nuevo club de lectura para los hispanos hablantes de nuestra comunidad. Nuestra líder Cris Criollo dirigirá el club con apoyo para aquellos quienes están aprendiendo el español. Las discusiones son en inglés y en español.

Nuevos miembros siempre son bienvenidos! Disponemos de copias del libro en inglés y español. Para registrarte, envíenos un email: macriscriollo@gmail.com

 

The Night by Rodrigo Blanco Calderon:  Caracas 2010. La crisis energética es aprovechada por el gobierno revolucionario para decretar cortes eléctricos que, durante horas, funden a negro todo el país. En esos lapsos de tiempo, Venezuela parece retroceder en la historia hacia una nueva Edad de Piedra que se filtra por todas las rendijas. En medio de esta atmósfera, dos amigos, un escritor frustrado y un psiquiatra acostumbrado a involucrarse en la vida de sus pacientes, conversan sobre una serie de crímenes ocurridos en el último año. No hay tregua para el horror. El mal va tintando de oscuro todo lo cotidiano"--Page 4 of cover

Awarded the French literary prize "Rive Gauche", this novel of today's Venezuela deals with the energy crisis in 2010 brought on by the revolutionary government and takes place in its capital, Caracas. The story's two protagonists, one a frustrated writer and the other a psychiatrist accustomed to getting involved in the lives of his patients, converse about a series of crimes that have occurred within the last year. There is seemingly no escape from the horror of everyday life so common now in their country.

Recurring blackouts envelop Caracas in an inescapable darkness that makes nightmares come true. Real and fictional characters, most of them are writers, exchange the role of narrator in this polyphonic novel. They recount contradictory versions of the plot, a series of femicides that began with the energy crisis. The central narrator is a psychiatrist who manipulates the accounts of his friend, an author writing a book titled The Night; and his patient, an advertising executive obsessed with understanding the world through word puzzles. The author shifts between crime fiction and metafiction, cautioning readers that the events retold are both true and manipulated. This is a political novel about the financial crisis and socio-political division in Venezuela from 2008 to 2010. The title of the book, originally also in English, is a gesture towards Chavism's failure to resist US influence. Yet, the form is unapologetically literary, a reflection on the depiction and distortion of reality through storytelling. Blanco Calderón said about the potential of language, "I am convinced that all the evil in the world begins in them: in words"

Admission Info

Free/Gratis – Email to register/Correo electrónico para registrarse

Todos son bienvenidos! Para más información y para recibir la invitación a la reunión de Zoom, por favor enviar un email a macriscriollo@gmail.com

For disability accommodations please phone 415-473-3220 (Voice), CA Relay 711, or e-mail library@marincounty.org at least five business days in advance of the event. The County will do its best to fulfill requests received with less than five business days’ notice. Copies of documents are available in alternative formats, upon request.

Para adaptaciones por discapacidad, por favor llame a 415-473-3220 (Voz), Servicio de Retransmisión de CA 711, o envíe un correo electrónico a library@marincounty.org al menos con cinco días hábiles de anticipación al evento. El Condado hará su mejor esfuerzo para satisfacer las solicitudes recibidas con menos de cinco días hábiles de antelación. Hay copias de los documentos disponibles en formatos alternativos, previa solicitud.

Phone: 415-453-8151

Email: macriscriollo@gmail.com

Additional time info:

7:00 - 8:00 pm

Dates & Times

2022/07/29 - 2022/07/29

Location Info

Streaming Arts