Tamerlan

Criticas

Serrano broke into the literary scene in 1996 when he won the prestigious Juan Rulfo short story contest, organized by Radio France Internationale. By the time he published his first novel, La marca de Espana (The Trace of Spain, Planeta), in 1997, such literary celebrities as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Alvaro Mutis had praised him as one of the most innovative and promising in a new generation of Colombian writers. This latest novel has also been celebrated for Serrano's excellent rendering of Middle Eastern literature. In a style reminiscent of the work by such classical writers as French Liberian historical novelist Amin Maalouf, Serrano recounts the life and deeds of Tamerl n, or Timur Leng, the 14th-century Mongol king known as one of the most barbaric and effective defenders of Islam. In a series of letters, Mohamed Koagin, a friend, adviser, and former vizier of the empire, tells Timur's grandson and future leader of the empire about the king's deeds and adventures. He mixes fact and myth to construct his image and write his true story. Structurally, every letter is divided into an exordium that introduces both the grandson and the reader to such issues of medieval life as the soul, disgrace, prudence, and suffering, and a narrative relating an episode of Timur's life. Readers interested in Middle Eastern studies will be delighted with the descriptions of Samarqand, the famous and mythic city filled with savants, and of medieval battles in which Muslim rather than Christian values are at stake. Once again, Serrano has contributed a wonderful and original literary work to Colombian literature, leaving aside the country's turbulent reality. Highly recommended for libraries interestedin contemporary Colombian narrative and Middle Eastern history. Camilo Hoyos, Bogot , Colombia Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.