The Fury of Achilles
The Fury of Achilles by Gustavo Rodríguez reconciles us with the foolish, young and irresponsible person we once were. When Achilles López leaves his small hometown of Trujillo for Lima to attend university, he soon discovers that the big city will not only corrupt his teenage innocence, but also test the friendship that has bound him to his childhood companions.
Achilles, the shy and responsible one of the group, gradually becomes the most vindictive and ruthless of them all. This is the story of four young people who leave their small town for Lima to study, begin their careers and build a life together, only to find themselves confronting the enmity, jealousy, insecurity and chaos of the big city.
Nearly two decades after its original publication, The Fury of Achilles has become a landmark novel for its exploration of the changes and emotions that accompany the passage from adolescence into adulthood. With echoes of Salinger’s Holden Caulfield and Vargas Llosa’s Cuéllar, Rodríguez creates vulnerable, endearing characters through humor without sacrificing complexity. He embraces irreverence without ever losing his tenderness.
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Reviews
“Although Gustavo Rodríguez had already published a collection of short stories, the appearance of his first novel, The Fury of Achilles, confirmed that he was the real thing: a writer who had merely spent some time in advertising, and not, as some might still think, an advertising man who had turned to writing.” Carlos Sotomayor, Letra Capital
“The Fury of Achilles is an easy, engaging read that introduces an author who knows how to tell a story with wit, agility and a keen sense of humor.” Javier Ágreda, La República
“In The Fury of Achilles, Gustavo Rodríguez’s comic inventions will make you laugh until you cry, although I suspect his sincere aim was to move the tender-hearted.” Revista Caretas
“Gustavo Rodríguez knows how to put the microscope to the intimate and hidden scenes of the human condition and, in doing so, allows us to see ourselves more clearly. He is a naturalist of secret life and its enigmas.” Guillermo Arriaga, Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Babel
“In Gustavo Rodríguez’s work, irony, playfulness, tenderness and love intersect in the search for an essential truth about ourselves.” Alonso Cueto, author of The Blue Hour and The Wind Traveler
“A kind of contemporary, deeply endearing The Time of the Hero (La ciudad y los perros) by Mario Vargas Llosa … You simply cannot afford not to read it.” Alberto Fuguet, author of Bad Vibes
