Named one of Latin America's most important young authors at the Hay Festival in Bogotá in 2007, Santiago Nazarian possesses a sharp wit. The author of four books, his works have been published in several European and Latin American countries. In his fifth novel, THE BUILDING, BOREDOM, AND THE BLIND BOY, the writer recounts the transition from childhood to adolescence of friends who live in the same building, with a touch of suspense and a good dose of lyricism. Seven boys live in a building facing the sea, a leaning structure, on the verge of collapse, just like their lives, in the difficult transition to adolescence. Their parents are always away. The school is always on strike. Idleness and boredom begin to pose dangerous possibilities for change. When a young teacher moves into the neighborhood, even stranger things begin to happen. She reveals herself to be a serial infanticide, and the boys must confront their own masculinities, discovering that, to be born a man, it is often necessary to kill the boy. Through gothic, androgynous, and athletic characters, Santiago Nazarian approaches youth and maturity as two symptoms of the same disease. Murder, prostitution, insecticide, and cocaine are the remedies, albeit contraindicated. Illustrated by Alexandre Matos, THE BUILDING, BOREDOM, AND THE BLIND BOY is a book of dire discoveries. It's literature that shatters windows, destroys families, and awakens zombies.
