Kamchatka

By Marcelo Figueras

Winner of the 2012 Premio Valle Translation Prize
Shortlisted for the 2011 INDEPENDENT FOREIGN FICTION PRIZE

In the forecourt of a petrol station outside of Buenos Aires, a father says goodbye to his son: 'Kamchatka,' he whispers softly into his ear. And then they part, forever.

A ten-year-old boy lives in world of Superman comics and games of Risk - a world in which men have superpowers and boys can conquer the globe on a board game. But in the outside world, a military junta have taken power; and amid a political climate of fear and intimidation, people are beginning to disappear without trace...

Kamchatka is a heartbreaking novel; set in Argentina during the bloody coup d'etat of 1976, it tells the enchanting story of a young boy trying to make sense of a world during a time of extraordinary upheaval.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Atlantic Books
• Release date: Jun 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9780857893611

Reviews for Kamchatka

[katiekrug · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story of a 10 year old boy forced into hiding with his parents and younger brother during the “Dirty War” in Argentina is told in two voices - the young “Harry” and the older one recounting his story. The story is told in short episodes and much of the context of the story is ambiguous, just as it probably would have been to a young boy. He’s pulled out of school, given a new name, and moved out of the city in which he has grown up - all major upheavals which we follow him trying to make sense of, trying to assert order in a chaotic, uncertain world. What I loved most about this novel was how Figueras portrays “Harry” and his family - it’s a beautiful portrait of one’s relationships with parents and siblings, at times loving and warm and at others frustrating and incomprehensible. But it feels very real, and despite everything that they are going through, one feels how lucky they are.

[wassilissa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

1976 in Argentinien. Die regimekritischen Eltern des Ich-Erzählers müssen nach dem Militärputsch untertauchen und verstecken sich mit ihren Kindern in einem Landhaus. Der Leser versteht natürlich, was hier abläuft und auch der mittlerweile erwachsene Erzähler weiß es nun. Das Kind Harry, wie er sich im Versteck nach dem Entfesslungskünstler Harry Houdini nennt (der ebenfalls ursprünglich einen anderen Namen hatte) muss sich hingegen vieles zusammenreimen und deuten. So kommt es zu herzzerreißenden Szenen, wenn die Eltern die Normalität aufrecht erhalten möchten und die Kinder sich wegen Kleinigkeiten beschweren, wo doch eigentlich die Existenz bedroht ist.Das Buch wartet mit einer Fülle von hervorragenden Bildern und Metaphern auf, Houdini, die Kröten, Superman, religion, das Risiko-Spiel und natürlich Kamtschatka, das uneinnehmbare Land. Die Personen sind absolut hervorragend dargestellt. Es ist ein großartiges, wunderbares Buch. Es ist tieftraurig (ich habe bereits wieder Tränen in den Augen) und doch hat es auch einen feinen Humor ("Das Leben ist ungerecht, aber es hat seine Momente").