by Hernán Rivera Letelier · Alfaguara · tapa blanda · ISBN 9789562395359
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In December 1907, a group of saltpeter workers, accompanied by their families, embark on a march to Iquique in search of better working conditions. Throughout their journey through the desert, friendships are forged and moments of tension are experienced, without imagining the tragic fate that awaits them in the port city. This novel tells a crucial episode in the history of Chile, where the struggle for justice and dignity is intertwined with the desolation of the landscape and the hope for a better future.
Hernán Rivera Letelier is a Chilean novelist. Until the age of 11 he lived in the Algorta saltpeter mining town, in the north of Chile. When it was closed down, he and his family moved to Antofagasta, where his mother died. His siblings went to live with his aunts. He stayed in Antofagasta, alone, until he was about 11. To survive, he sold newspapers. Later he worked as a messenger for Anglo Lautaro Nirate Company, until his thirst for adventure led him to spend three years traveling in Chile, Bolivia, Perú, Ecuador and Argentina. He returned to Antofagasta in 1973 and began to work at another company, Mantos Blancos. He married a 17-year-old girl when he was 24. Later he left for Pedro de Valdivia, another saltpeter mining town. He completed his seventh and eighth years of study at night school, and at the Inacap educational institute he earned his license as a secondary education instructor. Today he lives in Antofagasta with his wife and four children. He has received the Premio Consejo Nacional de Libro twice, in 1994 and 1996. His novel El arte de la resurrección won the Premio Alfaguara de Novela in Spain in 2010.
