The Distance Between Us
The Distance Between Us
Renato Cisneros
‘This is a book to set alongside Philip Roth’s Patrimony, Héctor Abad’s Oblivion, Paul Auster’s The Invention of Solitude, Martin Amis’s Experience, Albert Camus’ The First Man, and of course Kafka’s Letter to His Father.’ Thierry Clermont, Le Figaro
‘This is an impressive book. In writing it the author demonstrates great talent, as well as great courage.’ Mario Vargas Llosa
If I succeed in understanding who he was before I was born, perhaps I will be able to understand who I am now that he is dead…
In this sprawling family saga stretching across Latin America, journalist and writer Renato Cisneros probes deep into his own family history to try and come to terms with his father, General Luis Federico ‘The Gaucho’ Cisneros, a controversial figure in the oppressive military regime that held power in Peru during the 1970s and 1980s, a period marked by state-sanctioned terrorism and the rise of the Shining Path.
The Distance Between Us is at once excruciating in its honesty and deeply moving in its universal relevance. A bestseller in Peru, it was winner of the Prix Transfuge du Meilleur Roman de Littérature Hispanique 2017, finalist for the Vargas Llosa Biannual Award and longlisted for the Prix Médicis Étranger 2017.
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