Marcelo Ferroni Brazil

© by the author

Marcelo Ferroni was born in São Paulo in 1974, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and worked as a science reporter at the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper and for Galileu and Istoé magazines. Between 2004 and 2006, he worked as a literature and non-fiction editor for Globo Livros. Since late 2006 he has been the editor of Alfaguara, the literary imprint of Editora Objetiva. He lives in Rio de Janeiro.

Ernesto Che Guevara is a famous idol, but few know the details that led to his downfall in 1966 and 1967. Isolated in Tanzania and depressed by the recent guerrilla failure in the Congo, he gathers his most faithful followers to plot a new revolution. His goal is now Bolivia. Tired of the Cuban bureaucracy, he wants things done his way: no deals, no concessions, and using the Método Prático da Guerrilha (“A Practical Guide to Guerrilla Warfare”) – the unbeatable method he himself created.

Ferroni’s first novel is a work of fiction. A satirical story of ambition and madness based on true events – Che Guevara’s last revolutionary expedition – subverting documented history in the form of testimonies, diary notes and records of interrogation, and recreating characters and scenarios. It is also a love story, and an amusing pastiche written with great relish, showing the human being behind one of the biggest heroes of the modern age.

A Practical Guide to Guerrilla Warfare, Marcelo Ferroni’s debut novel, is a provocation. His fictional reconstitution of Che Guevara’s last steps is a frontal attack on the romantic image of the heroic guerrilla enjoyed by “Che”.

Folha de S. Paulo

A good-humored version of the real errors in planning that, in the year 1967, helped lead to Che Guevara’s death.

O Estado de S. Paulo

Novels:

Método Prático da Guerrilha

São Paulo: Companhia das Letras 2010, 225 p.

Prémio São Paulo de Literatura 2011

English sample translation available

Germany: Suhrkamp • Italy: Mondadori • Portugal: Dom Quixote 2011 • Spain: Alfaguara

Stories:

Dia dos mortos

São Paulo: Globo 2004, 156 p.

Represented for Riff Agency, exc. French, Portuguese & Spanish