Project Description

Adonáis Prize for Poetry 2008Rogelio Guedea

Mexico

Rogelio Guedea, born in Mexico in 1974, is considered one of Mexico’s most important young authors. He studied law and literature in Mexico and Spain and has already received countless prizes, among others the highly respected Premio Adonáis de Poesía. Guedea has lectured at the University of Otago in New Zealand for several years. In 2019, he has been admitted to the Mexican Academy of Language, the Mexican equivalent of the Royal Spanish Academy.

For further information, please also visit the author’s website: > rogelioguedea.com

Rogelio Guedea© Megan Saltzman

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Scalpel

Scalpel (“Bisturí”) is a dark novel about loss and vengeance. After becoming concerned about an illness, Santiago’s father consults Dr. Mansano and undergoes medical procedures that ultimately end his life. Santiago, determined to avenge his father’s death, murders Dr. Mansano. Although he acted with great caution, Santiago is forced to flee. On his journey, we learn about the thoughts that cross his mind and the small actions he has to take in order to avoid detection. With the help of his mother, friends, and family, he manages to go unnoticed, but on his return home, he discovers that everything he thinks he knows is, in reality, a lie

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The Dunedin-Trilogy – Shared Rooms

In Shared Rooms (“Habitaciones compartidas”) Roque, a professor of Hispanic literature in New Zealand, lives with his family far from his native Mexico. It is a quiet and even monotonous routine. One day he receives an email from Diego Valente, who has been hired by the same university and who, given his imminent arrival in New Zealand, asks for Roque’s advice on how best to acclimatise to his new environment. Diego arrives with the charming Lia and their two children. For Roque and his family, the arrival of Diego’s family seems providential, since they are the first fellow-Mexicans to come and live in the same place where they themselves have been living for the last seven years, and they hope this will bring some fresh air to their lives. However, what looks like a rosy future will become for both couples an almost nightmarish scenario, especially when Roque discovers that Diego brings with him a secret that is a heavy burden not only for him. Shared Rooms is a fascinating novel that, entering into the intricate relationships both within and between couples, explores with rare authenticity the deepest of human emotions: love, fidelity, inner exile and the meaning of our lives, all expressed in very agile prose and with a sharp sense of humour.

Quotes

Shared Rooms

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The Last Breakfast

The Last Breakfast (“El último desayuno”) is a detective story based on real facts: the murder of a student on a university campus serves as the thread of the plot. Roque, the protagonist, is a Mexican professor at a New Zealand university. He has the impression that the police and his colleagues think he is responsible for the crime. In this situation, it does not help that after separating from his wife he is going through a period of mental instability, nor that he cannot remember the details of his relationship with Sara, the murdered student. While Roque tries to hide his fear and discomfort, he concentrates on finding a solution to all his problems and circumstances: the relationship with his ex-wife and children, his lovers, his role as resident in a foreign country. The author weaves a story of intrigue extending far beyond the detective story, where the real conflict is human frailty itself.

Quotes

The Last Breakfast

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Secret Lives

Rogelio Guedea’s latest novel Secret Lives (“Vidas secretas”) tells the story of a perfidious scheme. The Mexican Roque de la Mora teaches Spanish at a university in New Zealand. Although very attracted to his student Natasha, he resists her obvious advances – until he gets a nasty surprise.

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The Colima-Trilogy – The Crime of Los Tepames

The Crime of Los Tepames (“El crimen de Los Tepames”) is the last part of the captivating Colima trilogy. Two brothers are brutally murdered in the usually quiet town of Los Tepames. Abel finds out that some mining companies were quite interested in their land. As he digs deeper, he finds himself in a swamp of murderous corruption from which there is no escape. Once again, Guedea fascinates the reader with his strong language and his outstanding style. The book was among the bestselling books in Mexico’s most important bookstore, Librería Gandhi.

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41

Colima/Mexico: in the heat of an election campaign, the governor’s brother is found assassinated with a 41-calibre bullet. Has he fallen victim to a serial killer or is the opposition party behind it? Based on a true story, the novel 41 paints a merciless picture of present-day Mexico.

Quotes

41

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The Brothers Corona

In The Brothers Corona (“Conducir un tráiler”), the young Abel Corona goes looking for his girlfriend, taking a lift from a truck driver who is involved in the drugs trade. When he steals money from him, Abel starts fearing for his life. Then his brother Ismael is found dead, and Abel is confronted with an old family feud: a fight over land ending in death. Is he being lured into a trap, to fall victim to revenge?

Quotes

The Brothers Corona

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Business: Reading

Reading is a highly enjoyable craft, as Guedea shows in his narrative essay Business: reading (“Oficio: leer”). In the form of short fictional pieces based around the works of well-known writers such as Cioran, Bolaño, Greene, Pessoa, Kafka and García Márquez, he awakens our desire for turning pages.

RIGHTS

NOVELS
Scalpel (“Bisturí”)

Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura 2022, 166 p.

The Dunedin-Trilogy
Shared Rooms (“Habitaciones compartidas”)
Cordoba: Almuzara 2019
Albert Jovell prize for novels 2018

The Last Breakfast (“El último desayuno”)
Mexico City: Random House Mondadori 2016, 159 p.

Secret Lives (“Vidas secretas”)
Mexico City: Ediciones B 2012, 139 p.

The Colima-Trilogy
The Crime of Los Tepames (“El crimen de Los Tepames”)
Mexico City: Random House Mondadori 2013, 320 p.
Among the bestselling books in Mexico’s most important bookstore, Librería Gandhi
USA: Scribd (Audio books)

41
Mexico City: Random House Mondadori 2010, 240 p.
Premio Interamericano de Literatura Carlos Montemayor 2012
English translation available
France: Flammarion 2012 · USA: Scribd (Audio books)

The Brothers Corona (“Conducir un trailer”)
Mexico City: Random House Mondadori 2008, 214 p.
Silverio Cañadas Prize 2009 at the Semana Negra in Gijón
USA: Texas Tech University Press 2014, Scribd (Audio books)

ESSAYS/CHRONICLES
El arte de gobernar. Manual del bueno gobierno
Córdoba: Almuzara 2017, 144 p.
USA: Scribd (Audio books)

The Fabulist‘s Glasses (“Los anteojos del fabulista”)
Mexico City: Editorial Lectorum 2016, 240 p.
Italy: Graphe

Seneca‘s Compass (“La brújula de Séneca”)
Córdoba (Spain): Arcopress 2014, 160 p.

Business: Reading (“Oficio: leer”)
Mexico City: Aldus 2008, 133 p.
Italy: Graphe 2012

Poetas del Medio Siglo: mapa de una generación
Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 2007, 150 p.

Crónicas del reincidente
Mexico City: Universidad de Colima 2006, 244 p.

Al vuelo
Tlaqupaque/Guadalajara: Mantis 2003, 103 p.

POETRY 
Exilio
Antología poética 2001-2010
Madrid: Rilke 2010, 84 p.

Kora
Madrid: Ediciones Rialp 2009, 90 p.
(Premio Internacional de Poesía Adonáis 2008)

Fragmento
Mexico City: Instituto Sonorense de Cultura 2006, 87 p.
(Premio Internacional de Poesía Sonora 2005)

Razón de mundo
Mexico City: Instituto de Cultura de Nayarit 2006, 63 p.
(Premio Nacional de Poesía Amado Nervo 2004)

Mientras olvido
Spain: Follas Novas 2001, 86 p.
(Premio Internacional de Poesía Rosalía de Castro 2001)

MICRO-FICTION
Pasajero en tránsito
Guadalajara: Arlequín 2010, 130p.

Cruce de vías
Palencia: Menoscuarto 2010, 96 p.

Para/caídas
Mexico City: Ficticia/Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes 2007, 130 p.

Free Fall (“Caída libre”)
Mexico City: Colibrí 2005, 164 p.
New Zealand (English language): Titus Books 2010

Del aire al aire
Barcelona: Thule 2004, 94 p.

FOR YOUNG READERS
Trilogy “Los víveros”

Los últimos rebeldes
Mexico City: Castillo (Macmillan), 2020, 132 p.

Los trenes nunca vuelven
Argentina: Castillo (Macmillan) 2017, 128 p.

La mala jugada
Argentina: Castillo (Macmillan) 2013, 141 p.

El diario de Bruno
Mexico City: Harper Collins 2018, 152 p.

PARTICIPATION IN ANTHOLOGIES
Vamos a leer
Germany: dtv 2018
(Excerpt of Viajes en casa)

La Frontera – Die mexikanisch-US-amerikanische Grenze und ihre Künstler
Frankfurt am Main: Faust Kultur 2014