Isolda vive encerrada en un castillo extraño y fascinante al mismo tiempo, tan ajeno a la ciudad de Medellín en la que se sitúa como singulares son sus habitantes y la vida que llevan. La atmósfera de irrealidad que se respira resulta opresiva para la adolescente, que encuentra en el bosque que la rodea la única tregua posible a su soledad. Pero las amenazas invisibles del mundo de afuera se cuelan silenciosamente entre las ramas de los árboles cercanos al castillo. Con un perfecto manejo de la tensión, Jorge Franco construye una breve novela sobre el amor y la muerte, poética y detallista, con un sobresaliente manejo de la tensión, y que, incorporando técnicas cinematográficas como el flashback y la narración paralela, también bebe de fuentes como el cuento folclórico o la crónica de sucesos. Dentro y fuera de la fortaleza, el amor, ese monstruo indomable, se muestra como una obsesión que aliena y embrutece, que pretende someter, que despierta deseos de venganza y del que solo parece posible escapar aceptando la muerte como destino.
Author
Jorge Franco, born in Colombia, studied Film Direction at the London Film School and Literature at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. MALDITO AMOR was his first book of short stories and MALA NOCHE his first novel, both of which received prestigious national awards. ROSARIO TIJERAS, published in 1999, has enjoyed spectacular commercial success in Colombia and marked the breakthrough of one of the most promising writers of new Latin American narrative. It is the story of the love triangle between outlaw Rosario and two young men from Colombian high society. Terrorism, violence and narco-trafficking provide a fascinating background to the fast-paced plot. It has recently been made into a major feature film, taking the Colombian box-office by storm with more than 1.000.000 movie-goers flocking to the big-screen within only two weeks of opening. PARAÍSO TRAVEL (2002) solidly reaffirmed Jorge Franco’s reputation with the tale of a young Colombian couple who attempt to escape the widespread violence of their country of origin by fleeing to New York as illegal immigrants. MELODRAMA (2006) is yet another contemporary story of “Colombians abroad” in Paris. He made an important comeback with the novel EL MUNDO DE AFUERA, winner the Premio Alfaguara 2014. His last book EL CIELO A TIROS, published in September 2018, became a #1 best selling title in it's first week in bookstores. Gabriel García Márquez has said about Jorge Franco: “This is one of the Colombian authors I would like to pass the torch to”. Web site www.jorge-franco.com
