About
Juan Gabriel Vásquez is a Colombian writer born in Bogotá in 1973. After studying law at Universidad del Rosario, he earned a doctorate in Latin American literature at the Sorbonne. He lived in Europe for sixteen years before returning to Bogotá in 2012. A major novelist of his generation, he explores Colombia's recent history through complex fictions. His novel 'The Sound of Things Falling' won the Alfaguara Prize and the IMPAC Award, a first for a Latin American writer. He is also a translator of Conrad, Hugo, and Forster, and contributes to the Spanish newspaper El País.
* 1973-01-01
Major works
- Los informantes (2004)novel
- Historia secreta de Costaguana (2007)novel
- El ruido de las cosas al caer (2011)novel
- Las reputaciones (2013)novel
- La forma de las ruinas (2015)novel
Key milestones
- 2011Wins the Alfaguara Prize for 'The Sound of Things Falling'.
- 2014First Latin American writer to receive the International IMPAC Literary Award for 'The Sound of Things Falling'.
- 2019Shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize for 'The Shape of the Ruins'.
Themes
Colombian historyMemory and violenceIdentity and exileCollective traumaLiterature and politics
Sources: thebookerprizes.com · id.loc.gov · globaldialogues.georgetown.edu