Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Barcelona Brothers-Carlos Zanón and John Cullen (translator)

The Barcelona Brothers


Carlos Zanón and John Cullen (translator)

Other Press, Aug 28 2012, $15.95

ISBN: 9781590515181



In Barcelona, Epi and Alex Dalmau enter a dive where one can buy drinks as well as whores and drugs. To Alex’s horror, Epi batters the skull of their Moroccan friend Tanveer Hussein with a hammer before fleeing the bar. To protect his brother, Alex informs the police that a “Paki” who fled from the bar killed Tanveer.



While the police hunt for the Pakistani, Alex tries to learn why Epi murdered Tanveer. Meanwhile Epi remains obsessed with his ex-squeeze Tiffany Brisette, who was stepping out with Tanveer.



This is a dark Spanish thriller that uses flashbacks to purvey to readers how Epi, Tanveer and Tiffany got to that deadly assault. The storyline pulls no punches when it comes to racial profiling, fatherless children as adults perpetuating the fatherlessness, and life in the sewers of the slums. Carlos Zanón provides a tense stark warning that Spain better beware and deal with the brutal undercurrent that threatens society.



Harriet Klausner

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