Álvaro Enrigue (born 6 August 1969) is a Mexican

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

short-story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

writer,

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

, and academic. He is the author of six novels, three books of short stories, and one book of essays.

Early life

The son of a

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

lawyer and a chemist and refugee from

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, he is the youngest of four brothers. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

because of his father's law work. He studied for a degree in journalism at the

Universidad Iberoamericana The Ibero-American University (), also referred to by its acronym ''UIA'' but commonly known as ''Ibero'' or ''La Ibero'', is a private, Catholic, Mexican higher education institution, sponsored by the Mexican province of the Society of Jesus ( ...

, where he was later a literature professor. As a young man he began his career as editor and columnist in various cultural magazines, including '' Vuelta'', founded and directed by

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, a ...

, and ''

Letras Libres ''Letras Libres'' is a Spanish-language monthly literary magazine published in Mexico and Spain. History and profile ''Letras Libres'', printed since 1999 in Mexico and since 2001 in Spain, has an average of eighteen to twenty articles per issue ...

''. Later he was editor at the

Fondo de Cultura Económica Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE or simply "Fondo") is a Spanish language, non-profit publishing group, partly funded by the Mexican government. It is based in Mexico but it has subsidiaries throughout the Spanish-speaking world. It was founded ...

(FCE) and at the

Secretariat of Culture The Secretariat of Culture () — formerly known as the National Council for Culture and Arts ( or CONACULTA) before being elevated to ministerial level in 2015 — is a Mexican government agency in charge of the nation's museums and monuments, ...

(then known as CONACULTA).

Career

In 1996, at the age of 27, Enrigue was awarded the prestigious Joaquín Mortiz Prize for his first novel, ''La muerte de un instalador'' (''Death of an Installation Artist''). Since then it has been reprinted five times, and in 2012 it was selected as one of the key novels of the Mexican 20th century, and anthologized by Mexico's largest publishing house, Fondo de Cultura Económica. His books ''Vidas perpendiculares'' (''Perpendicular Lives'') and ''Hipotermia'' (''Hypothermia'') have also been widely acclaimed. Both novels have been published by Gallimard. ''Hypothermia'', which offers an "unflinching gaze towards 21st-century life and the immigrant experience", was published in 2013 in the United States and England by Dalkey Archive Press in a translation by Brendan Riley. His 2011 novel, ''Decencia'' (''Decency''), received praise in Latin America's and Spain's most relevant publications. In 2007, he was selected as one of the most influential contemporary writers in Spanish by the Hay Festival's

Bogotá39 Bogotá39 was a collaborative project between the Hay Festival and Bogotá: UNESCO World Book Capital City 2007 in order to identify 39 of the most promising Latin American writers under the age of 39. The judges for the contest were three Colombia ...

. In 2009, he was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Residence Fellowship at the Bellagio Centre to finish the manuscript of his novel, ''Decencia'' (''Decency''). In 2011 he became a fellow at the Cullman Center for Writers and Scholars of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

, where he began working on his fifth novel. On November 4, 2013, Enrigue's novel ''Muerte súbita'' (Sudden Death) was announced as the winner of the 31st Herralde Novel Prize, joining a distinguished list of works by authors from Spain and Latin America, including

Sergio Pitol Sergio Pitol Deméneghi (18 March 1933 – 12 April 2018) was a Mexican writer, translator and diplomat. In 2005, he received the Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious literary award in the Spanish-speaking world. Early life Born in Puebla, Me ...

Enrique Vila-Matas Enrique Vila-Matas (born 31 March 1948 in Barcelona) is a Spanish writer. He has written several award-winning books that mix genres and has been branded as one of the most original and prominent writers in the Spanish language. He is a found ...

Álvaro Pombo Álvaro Pombo García de los Ríos (born 23 June 1939) is a Spanish poet, novelist and activist. Life and career Born in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, he studied at the Complutense University of Madrid and received a Bachelor of Arts ...

Javier Marías Javier Marías Franco (20 September 1951 – 11 September 2022) was a Spanish author, translator, and columnist. Marías published fifteen novels, including '' A Heart So White'' (''Corazón tan blanco,'' 1992'')'', '' Tomorrow in the Battle Th ...

, Juan Villoro, and

Roberto Bolaño Roberto is an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish variation of the male given name Robert. Notable people named Roberto include: * Roberto (footballer, born 1912) * Roberto (footballer, born 1977) * Roberto (footballer, born 1978) * Roberto (footb ...

. Along with his work as a writer, he is a Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

, having earned a Ph.D. in Latin American Literature at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

. His work has been translated into multiple languages, including English, German, French, Czech, and Chinese.

Personal life

Enrigue resides in the

Hamilton Heights Hamilton Heights is a neighborhood in the northern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is the northernmost part of the West Harlem area, along with Manhattanville and Morningside Heights to its south, and it contains the sub-neighborhood ...

neighborhood in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

.Enrigue, Álvaro
"Álvaro Enrigue: Hope for America on a Snow Day in Harlem; Defying the Trump Administration, One Stoop at a Time"

Literary Hub ''Literary Hub'' or ''LitHub'' is a daily literary website that was launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and '' Electric Literatur ...

, April 17, 2017. Accessed December 16, 2020. "I live in Hamilton Heights, a Harlem neighborhood that because of its recent history and location has reached a kind of idyllic integration equilibrium."

Selected publications

Books

*''La muerte de un instalador'', Mexico City: Joaquín Mortiz (1996); *''Virtudes capitales'', Mexico City: Editorial Joaquín Mortiz, 1998, *''El cementerio de sillas'', Madrid/Mexico City: Ediciones Lengua de Trapo, 2002, *''Hipotermia'', Barcelona/Mexico City: Anagrama (2006); English translation: *''Vidas perpendiculares'', Barcelona/Mexico City:

Editorial Anagrama Anagrama is a Spanish publisher founded in 1969 by Jorge Herralde, later sold to the Italian publisher Feltrinelli. History Anagrama was founded in 1969 by Jorge Herralde. In 2010, it was sold to the Italian publisher Feltrinelli. A Catalan l ...

, 2008, *''Decencia'', Barcelona/Mexico City:

, 2011, * *''Muerte súbita'', Barcelona/Mexico City:

, 2013, ; English translation: ''Sudden Death'', Riverhead, 2016, *''Un samurái ve el amanecer en Acapulco'', Mexico City: La Caja de Cerillos Ediciones, December 2013, *''Ahora me rindo y eso es todo'', Barcelona/Mexico City: Editorial Anagrama, 2018, *''Tu sueño imperios han sido,'' Barcelona/Mexico City: Editorial Anagrama, 2022, ; English translation: ''You Dreamed of Empires'', Riverhead, 2024,

Articles

* Álvaro Enrigue, "The Discovery of Europe" (review of Caroline Dodds Pennock, ''On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe'', Knopf, 2023, 302 pp.), ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

'', vol. LXXI, no. 1 (18 January 2024), pp. 34–35, 39. Caroline Dodds Pennock writes: "We need to invert our understanding of encounter to see transatlantic migration and connection not just as stretching to the west, but also as originating there." (p. 34.) According to the reviewer, "Until now the experiences of indigenous Americans in Europe had not been put together in one place.... ''On Savage Shores''... sets the methodological standard for a new way of understanding the origin of the modern world." (p. 39.)

References

External links

List of relevant reviews
of Álvaro Enrigue's latest novel, ''Decencia''
Álvaro Enrigue by Scott Esposito
''

Bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

''
Alvaro Enrigue recorded at the Library of Congress for the Hispanic Division's audio literary archive on September 5, 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enrigue, Alvaro 1969 births Living people Writers from Guadalajara, Jalisco 20th-century Mexican novelists Mexican male novelists Writers from Manhattan 21st-century Mexican novelists University of Maryland, College Park alumni Hofstra University faculty