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A Novel
by Miguel Bonnefoy
An enchanting family saga in the vein of One Hundred Years of Solitude, this prize-winning novel illuminates Venezuela's history through the lives of its extraordinary, memorable characters.
When a mute beggar from Maracaibo, Venezuela, takes in a newborn on the steps of a church, she has no idea of the extraordinary destiny that awaits the orphan. Raised in poverty, Antonio will be a cigarette seller, a porter on the docks, a servant in a brothel before becoming, thanks to his effusive energy, one of the most illustrious surgeons in his country.
An exceptional partner will inspire him. Ana Maria will distinguish herself as the first female doctor in the region. They will give birth to a daughter whom they will name after their own country: Venezuela. Connected by her first name as much as by her origins to South America, she only has eyes for Paris. But we never truly leave our own people. It is in the notebook of Cristobal, the last link of their family, that the stories of this astonishing lineage will finally take shape.
In this vibrant saga full of unforgettable characters, Miguel Bonnefoy paints a picture, inspired by his own ancestors, of a remarkable family whose fate is intertwined with that of Venezuela.
"Filled with earthy and luminous prose that evokes the writers of the Latin American Boom…Readers will be enchanted." —Publishers Weekly
This information about The Dream of the Jaguar was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Miguel Bonnefoy was born in France in 1986 to a Venezuelan mother and a Chilean father. His two previous novels, Octavio's Journey and Black Sugar, have sold more than thirty thousand copies each in France and have been translated into several languages. In 2013 Bonnefoy was awarded the Prix du Jeune Écrivain. His novel Heritage (Other Press, 2022) received widespread critical acclaim in France, including being short-listed for the Prix Femina, Grand Prix de l'Académie française, and the Goncourt Prize.
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