Reviews, Columns, Readings . . .

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Selected by the American Booksellers' Association for the Summer/Fall 2018 "Indies Introduce" list of ten best author-debut books, and for their August 2018 "Next Great Reads."
Powell's Books Staff Pick, June 2021.

"A rare achievement in which a reader comes out the other end wanting to start again. A bold and clever tale with a unique voice. -- Rebecca George, Volumes Bookcafé, Chicago.

"A wild, successful satire of Ecuadorian politics and supernatural encounters." -- Publisher's Weekly
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"One part Thomas Pynchon, one part Gabriel García Márques, and one part Raymond Chandler, Alemán's novel is a concoction of political thriller and absurdist literary mystery that never fails to entertain." -- Kirkus Reviews

"A condemnation not only of the corrupt businessmen and the criminal gangs that rule Poso Wells, but also of the violence against women that plagues Latin America's real slums." -- The New Yorker

"Alemán's voice, as translated from the Spanish by Dick Cluster, is fresh and deliciously absurd." -- BBC.com, "10 Smartest Beach Reads of 2018

"A noir, feminist, eco-thriller? Say no more." -- Feminist Press summer reads

"Dick Cluster, the translator, has fused the poetic with the tabloid and brought one of Latin America's rising literary stars to readers in North America. 'Poso Wells' can be read with pleasure in one long sitting and then reread for nuances and subtleties that surprise and entertain." -- SF Chronicle

"Though the Spanish original was published in 2007, Dick Cluster's new translation offers a stunning commentary on today's befuddling anglophone world.  An intriguing exploration of what drives people into action in a world that makes no sense." -- Full Stop


Video of our reading and talk at Brookline Booksmith,
Oct 2018
Entrevista en El Espectador, de Colombia, sobre mi proceso de traducir la novela.

My translation of Gabriela's story "Superheroes" is in the Jan/Feb 2019 issue of Kenyon Review. Audio file here. The story is included in the new collection Family Album, forthcoming from City Lights, May 2022.

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Winner of 2018 Northern California Book Award for fiction translation:
"A delightful and one could say overdue project, with an informative and entertaining introduction -- a must read -- about the history, presence, language, and culture of baseball in Latin America."
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Spitball magazine: "Fresh, exciting material, these 18 short stories from accomplished Latin American writers not only reflect a love of baseball equal to our own, they demonstrate fine literary talent previously inaccessible to us. Highly recommended."


L.A. Review of Books,  article on Cuba, D.R., baseball, fiction, translation. . . baseb

Island Books, Seattle, column on my Cuba books

Review, Larry Rohter, Revista

Review, Paul Hagen, mlb.com

Review, Bill Littlefield, Only a Game


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