Boyd Tonkin

The heart of Colombia’s darkness

Once again, Vásquez lures us into the dark labyrinth of Colombian politics in this novel of riots, assassinations and conspiracy theories

issue 16 June 2018

What makes Colombia remind me of Ireland? It’s not only the soft rain that falls from grey skies on the emerald uplands around Bogotá. In both countries, ingrained habits of courtesy and charm can smooth over the jagged rifts left by a history of strife.

Raised in Bogotá, and living there again after a decade in Barcelona, Juan Gabriel Vásquez writes novels in which elegant mazes of legend and rumour lead, step by graceful step, into the guilty secrets of ‘this country sick with hatred’.

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