Kingdom Cons - Softcover
Blood was one thing he knew, and he could see that his was different. Could see it in the way the man filled all the space without any sense of urgency and with an all-knowing air ... Then he saw the jewels that graced him and he knew: he was a King.
On the streets of a sprawling Mexican city, the Artist plays his accordion and sings: born into begging, he earns a living by the sweetness of his voice. Performing for a drug baron and his bodyguard one evening, the Artist recognises the power of his audience, and sees a way out. Swearing fealty at the 'court' of the King, he is allowed to live on the drug lord's compound, in exchange for composing flattering chronicles of the characters and lives inside. But the reign of such a King is often short, and the Artist is forced to witness not only the dizzy successes, but the inevitable crash of this fragile world.
Told in a heady mixture of baroque imagery and contemporary street slang, Kingdom Cons is a wild and highly original take on the very real situation in Mexico today.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
"My favorite of the new Mexican writers." John Powers, NPR Fresh Air
"Short, suspenseful . . . outlandish and heartbreaking." John Williams, New York Times
"Herrera packs his slim book with the sex, booze and nihilism of a better Simenon novella." Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal
"The Transmigration of Bodies takes the conventions of gumshoe fiction and transfers them to a charnel-house world that makes nonsense of the genre's habitual moral opposites." Bookforum
"Herrera's metaphors grasp the freedom, and the alarming disorientation, of transition and translation." Maya Jaggi, The Guardian
"Yuri Herrera's tiny, beautiful novels each conjure myth and metaphor from a contemporary experience in a precise location, transformed by archaic-colloquial prose." Lorna Scott-Fox, Times Literary Supplement
"Playful, prophetic, unnerving books that deserve to be read several times." Eileen Battersby, Irish Times
"Darkly satisfying." James Lasdun, The Guardian
"Yuri Herrera combines a dreamlike setting with vigorous style." Anthony Cummins, Times Literary Supplement
"My favorite of the new Mexican writers." John Powers, NPR Fresh Air
"Short, suspenseful . . . outlandish and heartbreaking." John Williams, New York Times
"Herrera packs his slim book with the sex, booze and nihilism of a better Simenon novella." Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal
"The Transmigration of Bodies takes the conventions of gumshoe fiction and transfers them to a charnel-house world that makes nonsense of the genre's habitual moral opposites." Bookforum
"Herrera's metaphors grasp the freedom, and the alarming disorientation, of transition and translation." Maya Jaggi, The Guardian
"Yuri Herrera's tiny, beautiful novels each conjure myth and metaphor from a contemporary experience in a precise location, transformed by archaic-colloquial prose." Lorna Scott-Fox, Times Literary Supplement
"Playful, prophetic, unnerving books that deserve to be read several times." Eileen Battersby, Irish Times
"Darkly satisfying." James Lasdun, The Guardian
"Yuri Herrera combines a dreamlike setting with vigorous style." Anthony Cummins, Times Literary Supplement
Book Description:
"My favorite of the new Mexican writers." John Powers, NPR Fresh Air
"Short, suspenseful . . . outlandish and heartbreaking." John Williams, New York Times
"Herrera packs his slim book with the sex, booze and nihilism of a better Simenon novella." Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal
"The Transmigration of Bodies takes the conventions of gumshoe fiction and transfers them to a charnel-house world that makes nonsense of the genre's habitual moral opposites." Bookforum
"Herrera's metaphors grasp the freedom, and the alarming disorientation, of transition and translation." Maya Jaggi, The Guardian
"Yuri Herrera's tiny, beautiful novels each conjure myth and metaphor from a contemporary experience in a precise location, transformed by archaic-colloquial prose." Lorna Scott-Fox, Times Literary Supplement
"Playful, prophetic, unnerving books that deserve to be read several times." Eileen Battersby, Irish Times
"Darkly satisfying." James Lasdun, The Guardian
"Yuri Herrera combines a dreamlike setting with vigorous style." Anthony Cummins, Times Literary Supplement
A penniless street musican swears an oath of loyalty to a powerful Mexican drug baron.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherFaber and Faber
- Publication date2013
- ISBN 10 0571275680
- ISBN 13 9780571275687
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages160
- Rating
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