|
William Ospina Colombia
|
|
William Ospina was born in Padua,
Colombia in 1954. He studied Law and Political Science and is now a writer and
journalist in Bogotá. Ospina has authored several award-winning collections of
essays and poems and is one of the best-known writers in Colombia. His second
novel, El País de la Canela,
earned him the highly respected Premio
Rómulo Gallegos in 2009.
Ursúa is the first part
of his trilogy on the conquest of South America. The protagonist is the
historical figure Pedro de Ursúa, who sets out for the New World in 1543, at
the tender age of seventeen. Adored for his engaging character and feared for
his remorselessness, he soon has only one goal: to find "El Dorado",
the golden city. Yet this obsession is soon to become his downfall.
The best book of the year!
Gabriel García Márquez
The
second part of the trilogy, El País de
la Canela ("The Country of Cinnamon"), can be read independently
of the first volume. In 1541 the young Cristóbal de Aguilar takes part in a
historical expedition to the previously unexplored Amazon region. Yet instead
of the cinnamon trees they hoped for, the men find an impenetrable forest that
turns their journey into a never-ending nightmare.
Powerfully written, captivating and intelligent – two historical novels
in the finest Latin American narrative tradition.
Weaving together adventures, discoveries and misfortunes, Ospina creates
a rainbow of colours and fragrances, sensations and unprecedented stories. A brilliant and refined novel that is voluptous and absorbing,
moving, perfect, indispensable.
La Verdad
Ospina knows how to transmit to us
the density and the force of the oppressive jungle, making it appear a living
and thinking organism.
Cultura
Original
editions and rights sold:
Novels:
Ursúa, Bogotá: Alfaguara 2005, 480
p.
France:
JC Lattès 2007
El País de
la Canela,
Bogotá: Norma 2008, 368 p.
Premio
Rómulo Gallegos 2009
France:
JC Lattès 2010
La Serpiente
sin Ojos,
Forthcoming
Essays (selection):
Es Tarde
para el Hombre, Bogotá:
Norma 1994, 136 p.
US:
Brookline Books 1995
¿Dónde Está
la Franja Amarilla?, Bogotá: Norma 1997, 156 p.
Las Auroras
de Sangre,
Bogotá: Norma 1999, 396 p.
La Escuela
de la Noche, Bogotá:
Norma 2008, 208 p.
En Busca de
Bolívar, Bogotá:
Norma 2010, 253 p.
Poetry (selection):
Poesía 1974-2004, Bogotá: Norma 2008, 352
p.