Stranger To The Moon

The renowned Colombian writer Evelio Rosero has never been one to shy away from the darker aspects of Colombian history and society. His magnificent 1992 novel, Stranger to the Moon, portrays a world that seems to exist outside history and geography, but taps into the dark myths and collective subconscious of his country's harrowing inequality and violence. A parable of pointed social cricitism, with naked humans imprisoned in a house in order to serve the needs of "the viscious clothed-ones," the novel describes what ensues when a single "naked-one" privately rebels, risking his own death and that of his fellow prison-mates. Each subsequent section of the book adds further layers to the ritualistic and social order of the bizarre world inhabited by its characters. Agents and spies employed against the naked-ones include trained insects and reptiles, while the fortunate naked-ones (those who manage to reach old age) take up strategic positions near the kitchens hoping for access to the fiercely contested food. Stranger to the Moon is a brave, powerful, and distinctive novel by a writer who arguably holds the strongest claim to the title of Colombia's greatest living author.