The Sound of Things Falling

by Juan Gabriel Vasquez

No sooner does he get to know Ricardo Laverde than disaffected young Colombian lawyer Antonio Yammara realises that his new friend has a secret, or rather several secrets. Antonio's fascination with the life of ex-pilot Ricardo Laverde begins by casual acquaintance in a seedy Bogotá billiard hall and grows until the day Ricardo receives a cassette tape in an unmarked envelope. Asking Antonio to find him somewhere private to play it, they go to a library. The first time he glances up from his seat in the next booth, Antonio sees tears running down Laverde's cheeks; the next, the ex-pilot has gone.

Shortly afterwards, Ricardo is shot dead on a street corner in Bogotá by a guy on the back of a motorbike and Antonio is caught in the hail of bullets. Lucky to survive, and more out of love with life than ever, he starts asking questions until the questions become an obsession that leads him to Laverde's daughter. His troubled investigation leads all the way back to the early 1960s, marijuana smuggling and a time before the cocaine trade trapped a whole generation of Colombians in a living nightmare of fear and random death.

Juan Gabriel Vasquez is one of the leading novelists of his generation, and The Sound of Things Falling that tackles what became of Colombia in the time of Pablo Escobar is his best book to date.

• ISBN10: 1408825791
• ISBN13: 9781408825792
• Publish Date: 8 November 2012
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 31 August 2013
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

I have been meaning to try some Juan Gabriel Vásquez for some times now, he seemed like the type of author I like. The Sound of Things Falling has been the one that was repeatedly recommended to me so it seemed like the perfect place to start. The novel is narrated by law professor Antonio Yammara, who explores the past and present state of Colombia and the effects Pablo Escobar and the drug trade has had on the country. However this is more of a personal journey as well, looking at how it has affected his life, from the loss of friends, the injuries received from being shot, and a broken marriage.

What really stuck out to me is the way Vásquez uses memory as a method of developing the character as well as examining the state of Colombia. The memories play a key role in this novel, as it is closely tied to Antonio Yammara’s own post-traumatic stress disorder. This was so well executed that auditory memory is worked into the narrative so effortlessly. It is hard to find examples where auditory memory is written so well, I find it often comes off as clunky and really breaks up the narrative. In The Sound of Things Falling the relationship between memory and trauma is masterfully done.

I cannot say I knew much about the history of Colombia. Pablo Escobar is such a notorious figure, but the impact on the country was all new to me. I have not seen Narcos, but after reading this novel I feel like I should. I appreciate the way Juan Gabriel Vásquez took elements of Colombian history that outsiders are aware of and then used the personal approach to examine the lasting effects. I have to wonder how much of this novel was auto-biographical. I know Vásquez studied law, but do not know much else about him.

Interesting enough while Juan Gabriel Vásquez does consider Gabriel García Márquez an influence on his writing, The Sound of Things Falling has no magical realism in it at all. I like to compare it more to the style of Roberto Bolaño as it is more hyperrealism, although with a disproportionate focus on the violence of Colombian history. I know this comparison does not quite work as Bolaño has used elements of magical realism more than this novel but I am thinking more in the style and feel of The Savage Detectives.

I have spent a lot of time reading Latin American literature this year and I must say, this may be a new obsession for me. I like the gritty nature, mixed with the historical turmoil. It reminds me of Russian literature but with more of a darker style. Reading fiction that looks at the effects of political mismanagement is something that I am interested in and I like the style of Latin American writing, it reminds me more of the pulp writing of 1920s North America. Juan Gabriel Vásquez’s latest book to be translated into English, The Shape of the Ruins is waiting for me at the library so I shall see if I have discovered a new favourite author.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-reviews/genre/historical-fiction/the-sound-of-things-falling-by-juan-gabriel-vasquez/