Grand Nocturno
A sad/melancholic ESL instructor teaches English to Puerto Rican soldiers who have enlisted and are on their way to Viet Nam. At the same time, he dreams about writing the “great American novel.” A serial killer – a truck driver – whose route takes him through the Big Sur area of California and who has all kinds of bizarre ideas about how Elvis Presley planned his own death. A tale about the encounter between a con man who sells blood to clinics in New York and a once-famous tango dancer is set in the Caribbean of the 1950s and involves Juan Perón. A letter from far away reveals rampant crime and prostitution amidst a nostalgic look at Buenos Aires at the close of the 20th century. The story of two popes who dress as beggars and set out early each morning to look for young immigrant boys… these are just a few of the very personal stories that are included in Grand Nocturno.
With profound psychological insight and a great diversity of stylistic devices, Vera writes of the precariousness of those who have no other shelter than the night and its infinity of stars.
«A disturbing collection of stories. Vera Alvarez ‘s prose oozes authenticity on all four sides, lived life from within.» -José Abreu Felippe