A young Swedish immigrant finds himself penniless and alone in California. The boy travels east in search of his brother, moving on foot against the great current of emigrants pushing west. Driven back again and again, he meets naturalists, criminals, religious fanatics, swindlers, Indians, and lawmen, and his exploits turn him into a legend. Diaz defies the conventions of historical fiction and genre, offering a probing look at the stereotypes that populate our past and a portrait of radical foreignness.
About the author
Hernan Diaz is the author of Borges, Between History and Eternity (Bloomsbury 2012), managing editor of RHM, and associate director of the Hispanic Institute at Columbia University. He lives in New York.
(from publisher)
Librarian’s comments:
In Diaz’ first novel, we journey with Swedish immigrant Hákan into the landscape of the American West, but experience it in an unconventional way. The language – solitary, dazzling, sometimes circular – perfectly reflects Hákan’s life.
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