Scars

(Paperback)

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Description

Scars explores a crime committed by a 39-year-old labourer who shot his wife twice in the face with a shotgun by examining the circumstances of four characters who have some connection to the crime: A young reporter, Angel, who lives with his mother and works the courthouse beat; A dissolute attorney who clings to life only for his nightly baccarat; A misanthropic and dwindling judge who's creating a superfluous Dorian Gray translation; and her killer, Luis Fiore, who, on May Day, went duck hunting with his wife, daughter and a bottle of gin.

Reviews

"The style throughout is simple, methodical, clear, and lovely in places. Its textures, colours, details and layers are rich, and much is soaked in significance. It's busy and it's clever, but it didn't suffocate or make me feel stupid. It's a book that demands to be re-read."Crystal Jeans, The New Welsh Review "Juan Jos Saer must be added to the list of the best South American writers."Le Monde "To say that Juan Jos Saer is the best Argentinian writer of today is to undervalue his work. It would be better to say that Saer is one of the best writers of today in any language."Ricardo Piglia

Author Bio

Juan Jos Saer was the leading Argentinian writer of the post-Borges generation. The author of numerous novels and short-story collections (including Scars and La Grande), Saer was awarded Spain's prestigious Nadal Prize in 1987 for The Event. Steve Dolph is the founder of Calque, a journal of literature in translation. His translation of Juan Jos Saer's Scars was a finalist for the 2012 Best Translated Book Award.