Far from the preexisting models that deal with the realities of Latin America through a stark, apocalyptic realism or a trivial celebration of the exotic, Los estratos is a novel in radical support of a literature devoted to writing, one meant to be a transformation of the everyday experience and a reflection on the way in which personal, social, and historical narratives are constructed. Through one voice constantly interrupted by many others, Los estratos tells the story of a man besieged by the need to reconstruct a vague memory from his childhood, while essential elements of his private life—an unhappy marriage and a dead-end family business—collapse with each passing day. Los estratos is a machine created to reveal links between the most intimate personal experiences and political violence, which in the end turns the book into a philosophical exploration of the peculiar forms of desire typical that populate late capitalism in a society as unequal and contradictory as Colombia’s in the beginning of the 21st century. The conflicts—civil or bloody, private or public—reach a raw and symbolic dimension, making readers think as much as feel and desire.

RIGHTS: spanish EDITORIAL PERIFÉRICA I spanish (colombia) TUSQUETS I spanish (mexico) ALMADÍA I spanish (peru and chile) ESTRUENDOMUDO

BY JUAN CÁRDENAS:

La ligereza
ESSAY, 2024
Peregrino transparente
NOVEL, 2023
Elástico de sombra
NOVEL, 2019
Volver a comer del árbol de la ciencia
STORIES, 2018
El diablo de las provincias
NOVEL, 2017
Ornamento
NOVEL, 2015
Los estratos
NOVEL, 2013
Zumbido
NOVEL, 2010
Carreras delictivas
STORIES, 2006