Enrique de Hériz

Special Edition with pictures by Daniel Mordzinski and epilogues by : Nuria Barrios, Juan Cruz, Santiago Del Rey, José Manuel Fajardo, Gemma Lienas, Oscar López, Eduard Márquez, Olga Merino, Rosa Montero, William Ospina, José Ovejero, Pilar Reyes y Juan Gabriel Vásquez.

Isabel Azuera, an anthropologist, is deep in the jungle of northern Guatemala. She has told everyone that she is doing field research, but in fact she has made the journey to escape her family. When she learns that she is believed to have died in a terrible boating accident and that her children have misidentified a mutilated body as her own, she decides to keep the truth hidden and remain “dead.” Alone in the jungle, she begins reassessing the lies and legends upon which the foundations of her family’s history have been constructed. Thousands of miles away, Isabel’s daughter, Serena, and the rest of the family have gathered at her parents’ beachhouse near Barcelona. Serena is keeping a diary and trying to make sense of her family and its history. Her voice echoes, enhances, and at times challenges her mother’s memories and perceptions.  

An intricately wrought, multilayered novel—and winner of the Premi Llibreter in Spain (The Bookseller’s Award)—Lies ranges from the present to deep into the past. As Isabel and Serena recount spellbinding tales of love affairs and scandals within the Azuera family, the lies and legends that have influenced generations gradually come to light. Interwoven into the narratives are beautifully-told digressions on the tribal customs and cultures, funerary rituals, and even the legends surrounding the eighth-century Chinese poet Li Po.  Some of the stories are brutal, others droll, and still others exciting. Together they illuminate the importance of storytelling in shaping our beliefs about our families and ourselves.

"A skilfully constructed and engaging work of fiction from an author to watch out for." Financial Times

"One of the most enjoyable novels I have read in a long time…the characters in Lies have lively minds, interesting secrets and enough emotional baggage to give Eastenders a run for its money. What elevates Enrique de Heriz’s domestic drama is an absorbing philosophical discussion about the nature of truth and the journey to fiction, via half-truths, white lies, silence, fibs and whoppers. Heriz’s tale is told with grace, humour and meticulous research." Miranda France, Daily Telegraph

The world's best magician is going blind, but is there a story in his past that can save him?

Victor Losa has spent his life studying magic. His mentor, Mario Galvan, taught him not only the practical aspects of the art, but also its history and the lives of famous Victorian magicians such as Hoffman, Maskelyne, and Cooke, and the most enigmatic historical figure of all, Peter Grouse, a pickpocket who decided to challenge the best magicians of the day. But suddenly things change for Victor Losa, just as he is proclaimed the world's best magician. A light appears in his eye, but this is no magic trick –he is diagnosed with a rare degenerative condition of the optical nerve. In short, he is rapidly going blind. As he loses his sight, Victor finds that there are new ways to conjure the world through stories of the past, present and future. And finally he learns the secret behind his mentor's teachings.

Isabel Azuera, an anthropologist, is deep in the jungle of northern Guatemala. She has told everyone that she is doing field research, but in fact she has made the journey to escape her family. When she learns that she is believed to have died in a terrible boating accident and that her children have misidentified a mutilated body as her own, she decides to keep the truth hidden and remain “dead.” Alone in the jungle, she begins reassessing the lies and legends upon which the foundations of her family’s history have been constructed. Thousands of miles away, Isabel’s daughter, Serena, and the rest of the family have gathered at her parents’ beachhouse near Barcelona. Serena is keeping a diary and trying to make sense of her family and its history. Her voice echoes, enhances, and at times challenges her mother’s memories and perceptions.  

An intricately wrought, multilayered novel—and winner of the Premi Llibreter in Spain (The Bookseller’s Award)—Lies ranges from the present to deep into the past. As Isabel and Serena recount spellbinding tales of love affairs and scandals within the Azuera family, the lies and legends that have influenced generations gradually come to light. Interwoven into the narratives are beautifully-told digressions on the tribal customs and cultures, funerary rituals, and even the legends surrounding the eighth-century Chinese poet Li Po.  Some of the stories are brutal, others droll, and still others exciting. Together they illuminate the importance of storytelling in shaping our beliefs about our families and ourselves.

"A skilfully constructed and engaging work of fiction from an author to watch out for." Financial Times

"One of the most enjoyable novels I have read in a long time…the characters in Lies have lively minds, interesting secrets and enough emotional baggage to give Eastenders a run for its money. What elevates Enrique de Heriz’s domestic drama is an absorbing philosophical discussion about the nature of truth and the journey to fiction, via half-truths, white lies, silence, fibs and whoppers. Heriz’s tale is told with grace, humour and meticulous research." Miranda France, Daily Telegraph

Esta es la sorprendente y divertida historia de un grupo de personas que, contra toda probabilidad, se empeñan en quebrantar las normas sociales. Con la vida y las costumbres de los pájaros como ejemplo y como metáfora de libertad, estos cuatro hombres y una mujer acompañados por un periodista que se encarga de redactar la crónica de sus transgresiones emprenden una audaz campaña destinada a subvertir el orden establecido. Sus originales e incruentos golpes se proponen alterar un estado de las cosas que perciben como injusto. Claro que sus actos no pasan desapercibidos por el misterioso Falco, que al igual que las rapaces, les acecha desde su aguilera secreta...

Narra la historia de un arquitecto al que un acontecimiento catastrófico llevó a convertirse en un vagabundo y a iniciar un descenso a los infiernos. Inmerso en la tarea de escribir sus recuerdos a medida que va sacando del petate que lleva con él algunos de los objetos que salvó del incendio de su casa, poco a poco el lector va reconstruyendo la cronología de su historia y los sucesos que desempeñaron un papel trascendental en su vida.