Lost City Radio

‘Lost City Radio’ is a poignant and deeply moving novel from a promising new author, which looks intensely at war's damaging effect on society and the individual. Ever since the civil war that took her husband ended, Norma has been the voice of consolation to a people broken by violence. Every week, bereft families listen to her radio show as she reads out the names of the missing, those who vanished in the clamour and brutality of the drawn-out conflict, with the hope of reuniting the few survivors with their families. Successes are few; her true gift is the offer of hope. Although her face is unknown to her listeners, her name and spirit are celebrated by a wayward nation searching for a guiding force. But her life is forever changed when a young boy from a jungle village enters her radio studio and provides a connection to the husband she thought lost – the husband she has not seen for ten years since departing for the war. Her story and those tangled up in it reveal a country in flux, desperately seeking signs of life, and reasons to continue, amongst pain and uncertainty. Stunning, timely, powerful and absolutely mesmerizing, ‘Lost City Radio’ probes the deepest questions of war: from its wide reaching affect on a society to its intimate emotional impact on every person involved. This searing yet tender first novel marks Alarcón's emergence as a new voice in American fiction, fully-formed and ready to be heard.

About the Author :
Daniel Alarcon was born in Lima, Peru, in 1977 and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. His collection of short stories, War By Candlelight, was published in 2005 to great acclaim, and was followed by a novel, Lost City Radio, in 2007. His writing has appeared in 'McSweeney's', 'n+1', and 'Harper's', and he has been named one of the 20 best writers under 40 by the 'New Yorker. He lives in Oakland, California. At Night We Walk in Circles is his second novel.

Review :
'It would be wrong to give away even a shred of plot here, but it must be said that the final pages are extraordinarily haunting, managing, in a way that only great writing can, to be both tragic and wonderful. The real surprise, however, is that this is a first novel, for "Lost City Radio" is a book of extraordinary power, by a writer -- recently selected as one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists -- whose own endless invention and send of colour are already second to none.' Guardian '"Lost City Radio" is a gripping and tense political fable, sharply rooted in a world we have come to recognize. With echoes of Orwell and Huxley, and with images of astonishing originality, Daniel Alarcon creates a universe both menacing and tender, filled with characters imagined with skill and nuance. The scope of the narrative and the sense of urgency in the story make clear that he is one of the most exciting and ambitious writers to emerge in recent years.' Colm Toibin, author of 'The Master' 'Daniel Alarcon writes about subterfuge, lies, and the arbitrary recreation of history with a masterful clarity. By accepting the premise that war is senseless, he goes on to make sense of the lives that are destroyed in its wake. "Lost City Radio" is both ambitious and resonant.' Ann Patchett, author of 'Bel Canto' 'Daniel Alarcon has written a book that fully captures the slow, quiet, terror of war. From the first page, the reader like Alarcon's characters, is captured by an uncertainty and longing that traps you in the pages of this book and makes it impossible to leave this story alone. Alarcon's prose is quick and beautiful. This is a first novel that needs to be read.' Uzodinma Iweala, author of 'Beats of No Nation' 'Powerful debut novel. Alarcon is still in his late 20s, and was recently selected by Granta as one of America's Best Young Novelists, but he handles the complicated plot mechanisms in this storyline beautifully. Time and again he also resists the urge to pass judgement on any of his characters. And so we emerge from this impressive political fable with a profound sense of loss, of rage, and a clarifying glimpse into the futility of violence as both ideology and practise.' Scotland on Sunday 'A powerfully, coolly written novel. Peruvian-born novelist Alarcon's debut reads as directly as if he had lived Norma's harrowing life himself.' Glasgow Herald 'Shifting between different points of view and time frames to encompass the before, during and after of the war. Alarcon builds up a tenderly imagined tale of love, fear and betrayal, which captures the confusion and futility of the nebulously defined conflict his characters are caught up in. It's a precisely drawn picture of people defined by what they have lost, that has resonance far beyond the continent it's set in.' Metro 'Impressive debut novel. An imaginative, lucid depiction of a traumatised society.' FT Magazine 'Powerful first novel. It is set in an unnamed Latin American country that physically resembles Brazil but also brings to mind Argentina and Chile under junta rule. Alarcon is at his best in evoking the unforgettable setting.' New Statesman 'All the colour that you would expect from South America is here. It is easy to see why Alarcon is shortlisted as a Best Young American novelist.' Sunday Tribune 'A powerful and deeply moving novel about war and its effect on society and the individual. Alarcon's writing is mesmerising and utterly powerful. His descriptive passages are tender and filled with the insight of a masterful observer of human behaviour.' Irish Independent