La Forastera
by Olga Merino
Description
A contemporary western set in the rugged, unforgiving territory of
rural Spain. A thrilling story about human resilience.
For the locals, Angie is the village crazy lady. She lives isolated and alone in the country, surrounded by ghosts who torment her with childhood memories of a poor working-class neighbourhood in Barcelona and a passionate love affair in her youth with an artist from London.
One morning, Angie discovers the lifeless body of the local landowner hanging from the branch of a walnut tree. This news endangers her own land and the future of the entire village. In her struggle to keep what’s hers, Angie uncovers a series of secrets deeply buried in that land. This leads to a liberating realisation: once you lose everything, they can’t take anything away from you. And then you’re invincible.
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Rights Information
Rights sold: Spanish (Alfaguara), Chinese (Dook Books), Greek (Patakis) and Arabic (Sefsafa)
Reviews
“A harsh rural story… literarily exuberant.” —El País
“A novel as tough and essential as the rugged terrain
where it sinks its roots.” —El Periódico
“A mixture of western and rural thriller, the story of
a woman stronger than the world
she lives in.” —Cadena Ser
“Olga Merino's prose has a rough touch, without frills
or excesses. Her language is forceful, like the main
character, and through her words we sense the earth
and the wine, see the colours of the sky, and also
those of loneliness.” —La Vanguardia
Author Biography
Olga Merino (Barcelona, Spain, 1965) studied IT and completed a master’s in Latin American history and literature in the United Kingdom. During the 1990s, she worked for five years in
Moscow as a correspondent for the
newspaper El Periódico, experiencing the transition from the Soviet egime to the market economy. This episode
inspired her first novel, Cenizas rojas, which was lauded by critics. Five years later, Espuelas de papel once again demonstrated her interest in portraying
social transformations. In 2006, she was awarded the Premio Vargas Llosa NH for Las normas son las normas, which deals
with the victims of the Crimean War.
She still works for El Periódico today, and also teaches at the writing school of
Barcelona Ateneu.
Copyright Information
Olga Merino 2020
Agencia Literaria Carmen Balcells
The Carmen Balcells Literary Agency was founded over sixty years ago with the aim of professionalising writers' work. It represents many essential authors of contemporary literature, including five Nobel Laureates, while investing in new talents.
View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher/Imprint Penguin Random House / Alfaguara
- Orginal LanguageSpanish
- ISBN/Identifier 9788420438450
- Publication Country or regionSpain
- FormatPaperback
- ReadershipGeneral
- Publish StatusPublished
- Copyright Year2020
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