Down the Rabbit Hole - Softcover

Villalobos, Juan Pablo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0374143358 ISBN 13: 9780374143350

Publisher: Fsg Originals, 2012

Synopsis

"A brief and majestic debut." --Matías Néspolo, El Mundo

Tochtli lives in a palace. He loves hats, samurai, guillotines, and dictionaries, and what he wants more than anything right now is a new pet for his private zoo: a pygmy hippopotamus from Liberia. But Tochtli is a child whose father is a drug baron on the verge of taking over a powerful cartel, and Tochtli is growing up in a luxury hideout that he shares with hit men, prostitutes, dealers, servants, and the odd corrupt politician or two. Long-listed for The Guardian First Book Award, Down the Rabbit Hole, a masterful and darkly comic first novel, is the chronicle of a delirious journey to grant a child's wish.

About this title

Review:

"Perfectly formed . . . Although easily devoured in one sitting, this clever little book is to be contemplated at length afterwards." --The Guardian

"Showing how a child absorbs violence without awareness that something is wrong is a tricky endeavor. Mr. Villalobos nails it." --Susannah Meadows, The New York Times

"Down the Rabbit Hole is a miniature high-speed experiment with perspective . . . A deliberate, wild attack on the conventions of literature." --Adam Thirlwell

"Juan Pablo Villalobos brilliantly encapsulates the chaos of a lawless existence in which, under the sway of drug lords, anything might happen and everything goes . . . Down the Rabbit Hole is an astonishing debut." --Lucy Popescu, The Independent

"If you're going to have an imprisoned child narrate a novel, then not so much as a word should be out of place. There are no such slips in Juan Pablo Villalobos's debut novella. We have here a control over the material which is so tight it is almost claustrophobic . . . This is a novel about failing to understand the bigger picture, and in its absence we can see it more clearly." --Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian, Choice of the Week

"Villalobos creates Tochtli's half-corrupt, half-innocent world . . . with a brilliant, tragi-comic light touch." --Jane Shilling, Daily Mail

"Juan Pablo Villalobos has done a masterful job creating a child narrator . . . Down the Rabbit Hole is, on the surface, innocent, clever and lovable, but its implications are deeply disturbing . . . [it] is a remarkable reflection on the uncontrollable narco violence that defines contemporary Mexico. And it's an absolute must read." --The Coffin Factory

"The riveting voice of Tochtli grasps our hearts as we realize that this is a world where even fate can be governed by power. In this miasma of pathos and politics, Down the Rabbit Hole brilliantly incorporates dreams, loyalty and the loss of innocence." --Alice Tao, The Houston Chronicle

"With this book we have discovered Juan Pablo Villalobos, a linguistic virtuoso able to penetrate the elusive world of literature, shedding light on many of its mysteries." --José Antonio Aguado, Diari de Terrassa

"With Down the Rabbit Hole, Juan Pablo Villalobos has made a dramatic entrance into the literary world. It is a book that must be read for its great aesthetic value and darkly humorous tone. A book that throws a clear light on a dark subject." --Teresa García Díaz, Amerika

About the Author:

Juan Pablo Villalobos was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1973. He studied marketing and Spanish literature. He has researched such diverse topics as the influence of the avant-garde on the work of César Aira and the flexibility of pipelines for electrical installations. He lives in Barcelona, Spain.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fsg Originals
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0374143358
• ISBN 13: 9780374143350
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96