Chilean Poet

Gonzalo is a frustrated would-be poet in a city full of poets; poets lurk in every bookshop, prop up every bar, ready to debate the merits of Teillier and Millan (but never Neruda - beyond the pale). Then, nine years after their bewildering breakup, Gonzalo reunites with his teen sweetheart, Carla, who is now, to his surprise, the mother of a young son, Vicente. Soon they form a happy sort-of family - a stepfamily, though no such word exists in their language.In time, fate and ambition pull the lovers apart, but when it comes to love and poetry, what will be Gonzalo's legacy to his not-quite-stepson Vicente? Zambra chronicles with tenderness and insight the everyday moments - absurd, painful, sexy, sweet, profound - that constitute family life in this bold and brilliant new novel.

Erotic and erudite, tender and wise, this novel tumbles through Chilean literary history via an intimate portrait of a young artist's yearnings; it will delight every lover and poet alike., A very funny, warm and beautiful novel, His clever irony, his lighthearted yet powerful prose, his gift for capturing this life that passes through and yet still escapes us - everything Zambra has already put into practice in his novellas and short stories explodes with vitality in Chilean Poet. Contemporary, ingenious, magnificent, Every beat and pattern of being alive becomes revelatory and bright when narrated by Alejandro Zambra. He is a modern wonder, Zambra writes with wit and warmth, and his characters are penned with compassion and humour... An uplifting and at times laugh-out-loud read

Born in Santiago, Chile in 1975, Alejandro Zambra is one of Latin America's foremost living writers. He is the author of numerous award-winning poetry collections and novels, including Ways of Going Home, which won an English Pen Award, and Multiple Choice. He was selected as one of Granta's Best of Young Spanish Language Novelists and was elected to the Bogotá39 list.