In the latest novel from a master of European crime fiction, past, present, and future intertwine on a breathtaking journey from Tangier in 1955 to Malm in 2014.
In the latest novel from a master of European crime fiction, past, present, and future collide on a breathtaking journey from 1950s Morocco to modern-day Spain and Sweden.
Miguel and Helena meet at a nursing home in Tarifa, at an age when they believe they have lived it all already. Distanced from their children, they feel they are no longer needed. The sudden suicide of one of the other residents opens their eyes. They don't want to spend their last days longing for supposedly better times, so together they decide to undertake the journey of their lives and confront the darkness in their pasts.
Meanwhile, in the distant Swedish city of Malm , the young Yasmina, a child of Moroccan immigrants who dreams of being a singer, lives trapped between her authoritarian grandfather and her contemptuous mother, who is ashamed of Yasmina because she works for a Swede with a murky reputation. And she's having a secret affair with the Deputy Commissioner of the Swedish police, an older, influential man.
As Yasmina is drawn deeper into Malm 's criminal underworld and Miguel and Helena approach the end of their feverish road trip, Victor del rbol masterfully reconstructs the history of violence that links their seemingly disparate lives.
In the latest novel from a master of European crime fiction, past, present, and future intertwine on a breathtaking journey from Tangier in 1955 to Malm in 2014.
In the latest novel from a master of European crime fiction, past, present, and future collide on a breathtaking journey from 1950s Morocco to modern-day Spain and Sweden.
Miguel and Helena meet at a nursing home in Tarifa, at an age when they believe they have lived it all already. Distanced from their children, they feel they are no longer needed. The sudden suicide of one of the other residents opens their eyes. They don't want to spend their last days longing for supposedly better times, so together they decide to undertake the journey of their lives and confront the darkness in their pasts.
Meanwhile, in the distant Swedish city of Malm , the young Yasmina, a child of Moroccan immigrants who dreams of being a singer, lives trapped between her authoritarian grandfather and her contemptuous mother, who is ashamed of Yasmina because she works for a Swede with a murky reputation. And she's having a secret affair with the Deputy Commissioner of the Swedish police, an older, influential man.
As Yasmina is drawn deeper into Malm 's criminal underworld and Miguel and Helena approach the end of their feverish road trip, Victor del rbol masterfully reconstructs the history of violence that links their seemingly disparate lives.
Victor del rbol was born in Barcelona in 1968 and was an officer of
the Catalan police force from 1992 to 2012. As the recipient of the
Nadal Prize, the Tiflos Prize, and as the first Spanish author to
win the Prix du Polar Europeen, he has distinguished himself as a
prominent voice in Spanish literature. Other Press has published
his novels Breathing Through the Wound and A Million Drops, which
was named a Notable Book of the Year by the Washington Post.
Lisa Dillman has translated a number of Spanish and Latin American
writers. Some of her recent translations include Such Small Hands
and A Luminous Republic by Andres Barba; Signs Preceding the End of
the World and A Silent Fury by Yuri Herrera; and A Million Drops
and Breathing Through the Wound by Victor del rbol. She teaches in
the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Emory University in
Atlanta, Georgia.
“A meditation on family, circumstance, and violence, both political
and personal.” —Publishers Weekly
“A quality of grace, hope, and forgiveness fills [del Árbol’s]
books, propelling readers forward amid intricate plotting with any
number of possible outcomes. [He] is equal parts painfully
realistic and playfully mystical in writing about the way humans
have of helping and destroying each other…[Faulkner] might have
found a kindred spirit in Víctor del Árbol.” —Houston Press
“A sweeping and devastating historical novel, full of suspense,
Del Árbol’s Above the Rain is a masterclass in the
way that trauma is reinforced and repeated throughout generations,
with deadly consequences. In Del Árbol’s noir-inflected
masterpiece, the past is always present, the political is always
personal, and love, however fleeting, is the only redeeming grace.
I loved every moment of it.” —Halley Sutton, author of The
Lady Upstairs
“Above the Rain is an exceptional novel about the present’s
inability to deny the past, a clear-eyed examination of the
cultural clashes in modern Europe. It’s also a novel about love,
the different kinds thereof and how they offer their own various
sorts of healing and redemption.” —Scott Phillips, author of The
Ice Harvest and That Left Turn at Albuquerque
“Víctor del Árbol’s Above the Rain is a heartrending tour
de force about mortality and chance and learning to live with
ghosts. Rich with noir atmosphere, the book begins in 1950s Morocco
and then brings us to contemporary Spain and Sweden. A sprawling
ensemble cast drives the narrative, making for an epic unknotting
of voices and experiences. It’s expertly plotted, suspenseful, and
immersive. Lisa Dillman’s translation is crisp and elegant. Just
extraordinary.” —William Boyle, author
of Gravesend and City of Margins
“Haunting and provocative, Above the Rain is a novel of
devastating, heartbreaking beauty. It demands your bravery, fires
your imagination, and challenges your heart and soul. The rewards
are rich. I will carry Miguel and Helena with me for a
very long time.” —Bill Loehfelm, author of the Maureen
Coughlin series
“A dark, vividly descriptive tale of two complicated people whose
troubled pasts motivate a road trip full of winding turns,
unexpected plot twists, and retribution. Adeptly plotted, an
examination of our own pasts, of what we cannot change about them,
and what we do with the time we have left.” —John McMahon, Edgar
Award–nominated author of The Good Detective
Praise for A Million Drops:
“Darkly engrossing...[A Million Drops] defies categorization,
pulling together the best elements of historical fiction,
psychological thrillers, and literary character studies.”
—Washington Post
“A mystery on an epic scale, extending over decades, generations,
and nations...Meticulously plotted and stylishly written, this is a
page-turner with fresh twists and surprises right up to the very
end.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Del Árbol, a gifted storyteller, keeps the pages turning even as
he probes the dark, compromised souls of his characters.” —Chicago
Tribune
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