ABOUT
THE BOOK

Translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean

Pilar, Eva, and Antonio Ángel are the last heirs of La Oculta, a farm hidden in the mountains of Colombia. The land provides the setting for the siblings’ happiest memories, but it also reminds them of their struggle against the siege of violence and terror, restlessness and flight. In The Farm, Héctor Abad illuminates the vicissitudes of a family and a people, as well as the voices of these three siblings, recounting their loves, fears, desires, and hopes, all against a dazzling backdrop. We enter their lives at the moment they are about to lose the paradise on which they built their dreams and reality. The Farm won the 2015 Cálamo Prize in Spain and was shortlisted for the Mario Vargas Llosa Prize.

About the Author

Héctor Abad is one of Colombia’s leading writers. Born in 1958, he grew up in Medellín, where he studied medicine, philosophy and journalism. Abad has worked as a lecturer in Spanish at the University of Verona and as a translator of Italian literature.

Librarian’s Comments

The Farm was a great success of criticism and reading in Colombia, combining literary quality and thousands of readers (50.000 copies sold only in Colombia). The novel received an important prize in Spain (Premio Cálamo) as best novel of the year 2015 in all the Spanish world. It was translated byGallimard in France, De Geus in Holland, Berenberg in German, Quetzal in Portuguese and Patakis in Greece with a very good reception, for example in NZZ Switzerland. Centro Cultural Biblioteca Luis Echavarría Villegas