The News From Paraguay: A Novel by Lily Tuck

The News From Paraguay: A Novel by Lily Tuck

"Brimming with rich descriptions of a beautiful country....The News From Paraguay evolves from a quirky, elegant tale of an unconventional love affair into a sweeping epic." -- Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Lily Tuck's impressive novel offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of 19th century Paraguay, a largely untouched wilderness where European and American figures mix with the Spanish aristocracy of the capital and the indigenous peoples from the surrounding areas.

The year is l854. In Paris, Francisco Solano--the future dictator of Paraguay--begins his courtship of the young, beautiful Irish courtesan Ella Lynch with a poncho, a Paraguayan band, and a horse named Mathilde. Ella follows Franco to Asunción and reigns there as his mistress. Isolated and estranged in this new world, she embraces her lover's ill-fated imperial dream--one fueled by a heedless arrogance that will devastate all of Paraguay.

With the urgency of the narrative, rich and intimate detail, and a wealth of skillfully layered characters, The News from Paraguay recalls the epic novels of Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa.

I Married You for Happiness, a PEN/Faulkner Prize finalist; Siam, a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist; The News From Paraguay, winner of the 2004 National Book Award; two collections of stories; and a biography are among Lily Tuck's works. Her work has been included in The Best American Essays and The O. Her work has been translated into over a dozen languages. Tales for the Henry Prize