Caracol Beach: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Description

Eliseo Alberto's award-winning Caracol Beach combines the passionate imagination of magic realism with the plotting of a thriller (and a modicum of farce). The result is a literary tour de force. Beto Milanes, the night watchman at a graveyard in the Florida resort town of Caracol Beach, is a guilt-ridden Cuban war veteran. Tormented by memories and hallucinations, he yearns to die but is unable to take his own life. Instead, he decides to force someone-anyone-to kill him. That decision sets in motion a night of violence that draws an odd assortment of characters into Beto's orbit. In scenes that range from the jungles of Angola to a seedy Florida bar, Alberto explores war, madness, exile, and the redemptive power of love. Translated by Edith Grossman.

Reviews

"A spectacular read... Storytelling magic."
--The Miami Herald

"Magic realism is in flower, but beneath its extravagant exaggerations lie serious observations about human nature."
--The New York Times Book Review

"[B]rilliant... a modern tragedy where madness goes hand in hand with the absurd."
--El Pais

Author Bio

Eliseo Alberto is a poet, journalist, and filmmaker. He lives in Mexico City.