Land of Smoke by Sara Gallardo

“Land of Smoke is one of my favourite books by one of my favourite Argentinian authors.”  – Samanta Schweblin, author of Seven Empty Houses

Dazzling, hallucinatory short stories by a rediscovered Argentinian contemporary of García Márquez, whose groundbreaking novel January is being published in English for the first time

Resplendent with otherworldly imagery and beguiling prose, Land of Smoke presents a uniquely compelling voice in Latin American literature.

• An old man wakes up one morning to find that his beloved garden, the envy of all his neighbours, is floating away with him on board.
• A young woman moves to Buenos Aires, bringing with her a replacement head.
• A meek German missionary leaves Paraguay for the Pampas, completely unprepared for what he will encounter there.

Dazzling and hallucinatory, the stories collected here recall the masters of magical realism ­– but with Gallardo’s distinctive, idiosyncratic slant.

Story Locale: Argentina

Series Overview: Timeless storytelling by icons of world literature, in a stylish series design

Sara Gallardo was a celebrated and prize-winning Argentinian writer, born in Buenos Aires in 1931. Her first book was published in 1958 and by the time she died in 1988 she had published novels, short stories, children’s books, and essays. Written after the death of her second husband, Land of Smoke is the first of her books to be translated into English.

Jessica Sequeira is a writer and literary translator living in Chile and the UK. Her books include A Luminous History of the Palm, Golden Jackal / Chacal Dorado, A Furious Oyster, Rhombus and Oval, and Other Paradises: Poetic Approaches to Thinking in a Technological Age. She has translated many books by Latin American authors, and edits Firmament magazine (Sublunary Editions). Recently she finished a PhD in Latin American Studies at the University of Cambridge.

Author Residence: Buenos Aires, Argentina (deceased)

Author Hometown: Buenos Aires, Argentina