Novel
Los juegos furtivos
Not translated into English
Alfonso Chase · 1968
Synopsis
A taciturn, solitary young man, who hides behind masks, dreams of being a hero and dreads a dull existence, looks back on memories that haunt him: his father's death, the family's poverty, jobs sought in vain, nights with prostitutes, marijuana passing from hand to hand. The book advances in fragments, in a city it does not pin down, San José or New York, and its hero wonders about what he is and about his difference.
Context
Written in 1967, the book appeared in 1968 with Editorial Costa Rica and has gone through at least four reissues, including that of 1983, which highlights the dark world it describes. It caused controversy through its portrayal of adolescence and its family, friendly and sexual relations. A novelist of the country saw in it, on its release, one of those young people who ask themselves what they are, the furtive lying in the sentences, the sensations and the deceptive anecdotes. The book opens a body of work peopled with misunderstood characters in oppressive milieus.
Who it is for
A short novel of about a hundred pages, in Spanish, written in fragments; no French translation.
Prizes and reception
National Novel Prize in 1968, for a book first received as a scandal; reissued at least four times.
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