War by Candlelight: Stories

The stories in this debut collection are extraordinary. Daniel Alarcón was born in Lima, raised in Alabama, spent time in Peru as a Fulbright scholar, and now lives in Oakland. Most of the stories in "War by Candlelight" are set in Peru; three take place in New York City. Whether writing about political instability in Lima or emotional turmoil in Manhattan, Alarcón writes with a kind of unobtrusive brilliance that is astonishing. I'd finish one of these stories, marvel at how awesome it was, only to find the next one even more brilliant. "Third Avenue Suicide" (in which Reena, an Indian immigrant, keeps stalling on introducing her Peruvian boyfriend to her mother), "Lima. Peru. July 28" (a painter gets sucked into revolutionary violence), "A science for being alone" (Miguel learns that his former girl friend, the mother of his five-year old daughter, whom he has planned to propose to, intends to emigrate to the U.S.) were three of my favorites. All three are extraordinary, But they are eclipsed by the title story, and by "City of Clowns", probably the best short story I've read in the last five years. It's not just the writing that is excellent. Whether it's a result of the insight that comes from the dual perspective of the emigrant, or a consequence of Alarcón's innate smartness, there is genuine wisdom in these wonderful, disturbing stories. I highly recommend "War by Candlelight".

I read these a couple months ago and am still overwhelmed by these stories. I rarely like short stories, usually can't sustain interest to read a whole book of them - but these got me. Immediately. Daniel Alarcon is a brilliant, talented writer - everything THEY say about him is true. Each character in each short story is so vivid and real, so immediately compelling. Each short story tells a lifetime of a person and a chunk of history - in this case, of Peru, or Peruvian immigrants. THe stories and situations are complex and Alarcon refrains from making political judgments or pontifications. This is some of the most interesting stuff I've read in years, it's beautifully written, it's compelling and breathtaking. And having just read his recently published novel, Lost City Radio, I have to say - I like the short stories better. These are incredible. Don't miss 'em.

"In Lima," writes Daniel Alarcón, "dying is the local sport." The same is true of the Peruvian countryside, where one of the author's characters loses his wife in a fantastic mudslide that inundates his entire village. Alarcón's Peru is a hard place to make a life. Nearly all of the short stories in this collection catalog the war torn country's violence, its corruption and its lack of opportunity for able-bodied citizens. At the same time, there is a gentle nature about many of the author's protagonists, most of who are simply trying to make the best of a bad situation. The majority of these stories take place in Lima, a city that contains a large penitentiary for terrorists and street thugs. The local kids refer to the facility as the University "because it's where you went when you finished high school." In Alarcón's first story, Flood, every moment - every breath it seems - is dominated by the neighborhood turf war, the threat of incarceration and worst of all, death at the hand of a rival gang. For the author's story, Absence, the scene shifts to post 9/11 New York City, where Wari, a painter, is having a showing of his work. Before leaving Peru, the painter is warned by a friend to shave, lest security officials mistake him for an Arab. The reader follows his experience at the American Embassy in Lima Even there, his situation is made more difficult. Hoping to obtain a ninety-day stay, Wari finds he can only get a one-month tourist visa. After a meeting with an abrasive embassy agent, he is limited to two weeks out-of-country. Daniel Alarcón writes with such an authentic voice that it's hard to imagine the lives of the people of Peru being any different that what he describes. All of the stories here bring a new tragedy - the loss of a loved one, or the story of a laid off bank employee, Miguel, who has been pleading with his girlfriend, the mother of their child, for her hand in marriage for five years. The woman loves Miguel but tells him but that she is not sure that that is enough. Miguel muses that "in this city, there is nothing more useless than imagining a life... There is no work," he complains. Born in Lima and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Alarcón has written a beautiful, if sobering, collection of short stories. Strongly recommended for adult readers.

Globalization is a funny thing. Who would think that one of the best up and coming South American writers would be a Peruvian American from Birmingham, Alabama who writes in English. What makes him a South American is that Alarcon is a gifted chronicler of life in Lima, Peru. There is nothing nostalgic or romantacized about Alarcon's Lima. It's Lima, La Horrible. A grotesque, third world city that is for some odd reason is an almost charming city in its weirdness. As an American going back to the city where he was born, Alarcon sees Lima in a way most Peruvians miss. Alarcon has no need for magic realism. Alarcon's protagonists are handyman thieves, unemployed bank clerks, dog killing revolutionaries and journalists who on occassion ride the city's buses dressed in clown outfits. Throw in a parade of shoe shine boys and a Senderista or two and you have that strange mix that is modern day Lima. Alarcon's short stories are precise and well written. You can almost see the finger prints of the Iowa Writers Workshop. This is a very good first collection of short stories for a young writer. I am looking forward to seeing future books. It will be interesting to see whether he stays a South American writer or turns his talents to the Latino immigrant experience in the United States.