American Visa

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Armed with fake papers, a handful of gold nuggets, and a snazzy custom made suit, an unemployed schoolteacher with a singular passion for detective fiction sets out from small town Bolivia on a desperate quest for an American visa, his best hope for escaping his painful past and reuniting with his grown son in Miami.Mario Alvarez s dream of emigration takes a tragicomic twist on the rough streets of La Paz, Bolivia s seat of government Alvarez embarks on a series of Kafkaesque adventures, crossing paths with a colorful cast of hustlers, social outcasts, and crooked politicians and initiating a romance with a straight shooting prostitute named Blanca Spurred on by his detective fantasies and his own tribulations, he hatches a plan to rob a wealthy gold dealer, a decision that draws him into a web of high society corruption but also brings him closer than ever to obtaining his ticket to paradise.Juan de Recacoechea was born in La Paz, Bolivia, and worked as a journalist in Europe for almost twenty years After returning to his native country, he helped found Bolivia s first state run television network, served as its general manager, and dedicated himself to fiction writing Recacoechea is the author of seven novels American Visa is his first novel to be translated into English. New Read American Visa [ Author ] Juan De Recacoechea [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr fl neur , 90 , ,, , , , , , , fl neur , 90 , ,, , , , , , ,, , I think I did not remember this is noir, but it was obvious from the opening lines The first 30 pages or so are very reminiscent of Raymond Chandler At one point, our first person narrator, Mario Alvarez, ducks into a bookstore, and we see the author clearly acknowledge this influence.I lost myself amidst gigantic shelves holding hundreds of books, ranging from children s stories to thick volumes on medicine, and a gamut of novels and short stories in between I was never a fan of literature t I think I did not remember this is noir, but it was obvious from the opening lines The first 30 pages or so are very reminiscent of Raymond Chandler At one point, our first person narrator, Mario Alvarez, ducks into a bookstore, and we see the author clearly acknowledge this influence.I lost myself amidst gigantic shelves holding hundreds of books...Every female character is assessed according to her screwability, ironically by an unscrewable, pathetic narrator alcoholic, unemployed, advanced in years, not very funny or interesting, prone to robbing bookstores, with a French mustache and a pair of shoes he s been wearing for almost twenty years who for no discernible reason is well liked by every man and woman he crosses paths with He beds a beautiful, peasant prostitute with a heart of Andean gold and being the self professed stud Every female character is assessed according to her screwability, ironically by an unscrewable, pathetic narrator alcoholic, unemployed, advanced in years, not very funny or interesting, prone to robbing bookstores, with a French mustache and a pair of shoes he s been wearing for almost twenty years who for no discernible reason is well liked by every man and woman he crosses paths with He beds a beautiful, peasant prostitute with a heart of Andean gold and being the self professed stud that he is manages to make her experience intimacy, love, and orgasm for the first time in her life Either that or she s just a good actress Meanwhile, his heart is truly taken by Isabel, the aimless aristocrat he thinks of while having pity sex with the prostitute There s no reason he should bein love with her except that she has money and a solid reputation There s certainly nothinginteresting or virtuous about her Meanwhile Mario wanders around spouting a bunch of purple similes and talking rather emot...While reading Juan de Recacoechea s American Visa, I was surprised by how familiar the author s writing style felt It didn t seem as though I were reading a book from Latin America it felt like I was reading something written by a U.S writer I finally realized that, even though the characters were Bolivian and the setting was in La Paz, the book was written in a style the protagonist and narrator, Mario Alvarez, greatly admires that of a noir novel When visiting a bookstore, he observes While reading Juan de Recacoechea s American Visa, I was surprised by how familiar the author s writing style felt It didn t seem as though I were reading a book from Latin America it felt like I was reading something written by a U.S writer I finally realized that, even though the characters were Bolivian and the setting was in La Paz, the book was written in a style the protagonist and narrator, Mario Alvarez, greatly admires that of a noir novel When visiting a bookstore, he observes I always liked noir novels about detectives and hoods that have clear beginnings and endings Guys like Raymond Chandler and Chester Himes can change my life for a few hours, freeing me to see the world through the eyes of Philip Marlowe or Grave Digger Jones...3.5 stars Spent a snow day starting and finishing this read for my AtW challenge Bolivia I liked it The prose is snappy and the secondary characters are memorable.102 Bolivia This is a roman noir about a loser living in a creepy hotel surrounded by prostitutes in La Paz and trying to get a visa for the US As we follow him, we learnabout La Paz in the 90 s the political setting and the social environment The writing style is very easy to get into Overall, it ...I am an American who married into a Bolivian family and lived for a while in La Paz, where I was immersed in the local language and culture In fact, I was there during the time this book was written So for me the story of Mario Alvarez rang incredibly true, though not always in positive ways I think my familiarity with the country also helped me understand some of the nuances of region that played out in the story.The book s portrayal of life ...This novel has attracted a mass of marmite reviews some love it, whilst others loathe it and it s hard to disagree with any of them It s just that sort of book Described as a crime mystery, the crime element isn t that good and indeed the plot is a bit random in places but strangely that doesn t really detract much from its overall impact It is just such a visual feast As another reviewer has said, imagine a 1950 s noir genre black and white film but set in the immensely seedy, colourful This novel has attracted a mass of marmite reviews some love it, whilst others loathe it and it s hard to disagree with any of them It s just that sort of book Described as a crime mystery, the crime element isn t that good and indeed the plot is a bit random in places but strangely that doesn t really detract muc...This book was quite different to the crime thriller novels I usually read, but I found myself hooked, and really enjoying it It is reminiscent of that classic mid 20th century American noir, with its dishevelled hero, mean and gritty streets, and situations that unfold into all sorts of unplanned bad places and outcomes Recacoechea s writing probably shines most in his evocation of La Paz, the highest capital city in the wor...Mario Alverez enters La Paz on the first page of the novel and leaves it on the last In between, his efforts to obtain an American visa were challenged and thwarted by his own all too human failings I read this book when I was in Bolivia It was great to see how the seedy district Alverez habited in the novel has changed into a backpacker area, and how it remained unchanged beneath While the ending wasn t weak, I was expecting a bitI was expecting all the threads to come together, al Mario Alverez enters La Paz on the first page of the novel and leaves it on the last In between, his efforts to obtain an American visa were challenged and thwarted by his own all too human failings I read this book when I was in Bolivia It was great to see how the seedy district Alverez habited in the novel has changed into a backpacker ...

American Visa
  • English
  • 23 April 2017
  • Paperback
  • 257 pages
  • 1933354208
  • Juan De Recacoechea
  • American Visa