Bøker av Carlos Rubio

We first meet Jack Stewart on his way back to his apartment in New York City, where he is pursuing a career as a jazz musician. As the novel unfolds, we learn of the difficulties he encounters, of the friendship he develops with George, his roommate-also a jazz musician-and the women he meets in the city. But more importantly, we learn of the very close relationship he has with his mother, who writes to him regularly from Southern Virginia. Through these letters and series of flashbacks, we come to understand Jack's background, the stifling environment he left behind, and his father's resentment and disappointment that he did not take up the family business. But it is Hans, proprietor of The Empty Hand, philosopher and benefactor of every artist, who holds the novel together. It is from him that Jack receives those words of wisdom and encouragement so necessary for every artist. At the end of the novel, when Jack believes that he has made sense of it all, everything unravels. It is then that he must travel back to Virginia to face his father, his former friends and his unresolved past.

En este volumen Carlos Rubio nos ofrece Hubris --palabra griega que significa arrogancia pronunciada-- una novela corta que describe la accidentada llegada del norteamericano Jason West al pueblo costero de Costa Blanca. Desde el principio vemos sus frustraciones y dificultades con el idioma, con los habitantes del pueblo y con las costrumbres en general. También presenciamos su cambio radical después de conocer a Nara Montero, residente del pueblo y su sorprendente reacción cuando ya está libre de regresar a los Estados Unidos. Además de la novela, el autor nos ofrece unos relatos, al igual que la novela, ambientados en Costa Blanca. En ellos encontramos personajes que ya hemos conocido de pasada en Hubris, pero que ahora adquieren su propia voz y nos permiten entrever sus conflictos internos: una mujer que imagina que su marido le es infiel; un adolescente a punto de perder la virginidad; una mujer religiosa que termina en un prostíbulo; dos hermanos gemelos cuyas vidas se bifurcan después de visitar una feria ambulante. El volumen concluye con Xinef, el eterno, cuento que alude al proceso creativo y a la fuerza de la imaginación.

THE SUCCESSOR AND OTHER ODD STORIES, the latest offering from award-winning author Carlos Rubio, proves once again that he possesses a wide range of narrative scope. In this volume he has gone beyond historical fiction (Forgotten Objects), romantic fiction (Italian Tilt), satirical fiction (The Neophyte), to take a new direction. Each of the ten stories in this collection, all told in the first person, contains an element of the unexplainable, and every one captures the interest of the reader from the opening sentence. Echoes of Teotihuacán, one of the stories, was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2022.

Italian Tilt is a novel that goes beyond exploring how Donald, the main character, finds romance and discovers a new culture while on a trip to Italy. It also deals with the nature of personal growth, the nature of friendship, as well as family conflict and reconciliation.

Would you dare to fly to a world of witches?Every Halloween, witches from the realm of Magicca travel to Earth to visit children and spend a joyful night filled with magic,play and laughter. These gentle witches have vowed to guide, protect, and inspire their little ones, and this year, Witch Snowellis delighting her child with a trip back to her home world. Join us as we explore the adventures of a little girl who faces her fear of the unknown and turns it into a wonderful journey of self-discovery. Are you ready to embrace fear to reveal your hidden potential and untapped courage?