World Literature: Carlos Manuel Àlvarez’s “False War” (with Translator Natasha Wimmer)

In the World Literature premiere of our fall programming season, City of Asylum welcomes one of the best young Spanish novelists of our time, Carlos Manuel Àlvarez, to discuss his latest novel, False War. The novel’s translator, Natasha Wimmer, joins Carlos in a conversation moderated by Anderson Tepper. 

“What a combination—Carlos Manuel Álvarez, one of the rising voices of Cuban and Latin American literature, and Natasha Wimmer, perhaps the leading Spanish-language translator of our time (translator of Roberto Bolaño’s masterworks, The Savage Detectives and 2666, among others). Together, they’ll discuss Álvarez’s thrilling new novel, False War, which captures the fractured experience of exile and migration—from Mexico City to Miami, Paris to Berlin, and beyond.” —Anderson Tepper

The novel follows a cast of ambivalent castaways living lives of deep estrangement from their home country, stranded in an existential no-man’s land. Some of them want to leave and can’t, others leave but never quite seem to get anywhere…

Employing a dazzling range of narrative styles from noir to autofiction, Carlos’s False War brings together the stories of many people from all walks of life through a series of daisy-chained stories. From Havana to Mexico City to Miami, from New York to Paris to Berlin, these characters learn that momentum is just an illusion. In reality, they are paralyzed, unwillingly immersed in a fake war waged with little real passion.

The fractured narrative, filled with extraordinary portraits of ordinary people, reflects the disintegration that comes from being uprooted. At the same time, it is full of tenderness, moments of joy, and profound release. False War confirms Carlos Manuel Álvarez as one of the indispensable voices of his generation in Latin American letters.

You can purchase a copy of Carlos’s book, False War, at City of Asylum Bookstore.

About the Author:

Carlos Manuel Álvarez is the author of The Tribe and The Fallen. He has been included in Granta’s “Best of Young Spanish-Language Novelists” as well as Bogotá39’s best Latin American writers under 40. He lives in New York City.

About the Translator:

Natasha Wimmer is the translator of nine books by Roberto Bolaño, including The Savage Detectives and 2666. Her recent translations include Nona Fernández’s Voyager and Álvaro Enrigue’s You Dreamed of Empires.

About the Moderator:

Anderson Tepper has been a guest curator of PEN America’s World Voices Festival and is a longstanding member of the international committee of the Brooklyn Book Festival. He writes on books and authors for a variety of publications, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and World Literature Today. Anderson also serves on the City of Asylum Advisory Board.

About Your Visit: 

The in-house restaurant, Cucina Alfabeto, is open for brunch from 9:30 to 2 p.m. and for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Please visit OpenTable or call 412-435-1111 to make a reservation.