Grotesque Tales

Published over the course of a rebellious and eventful life, the Grotesque Tales are indispensable in forging Venezuelan dreams and identities, as numerous and contradictory as the stories themselves. To keep alive the memory of Venezuelan author José Rafael Pocaterra (1899-1955), Caobo dares to translate into English this delightful, multifaceted book, entertaining and combative, for those who feel nostalgia or curiosity for a land now distant in space or in time, for those who like to see where we come from and how we have arrived here. A good book in hand is worth more than a thousand academic theses drifting in the air. >J.R. Pocaterra was a journalist, writer, and political activist who lived in Venezuela during the first half of the 20th century and fought against the dictatorships of Cipriano Castro and Juan Vicente Gómez. During that time, he spent several years in prison, including at the notorious La Rotunda. In 1929, he took part in the failed coup attempt known as the Falke expedition. He died in Montreal in 1956. His most renowned works, considered classic literature among Venezuelans, include the memoirs of his years of activism and the book in front of you: the Grotesque Tales, a series of social realism-style short stories about life in Venezuela, translated into English.