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Shadow Without a Name

ignacio padilla peter bush anne mclean

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Three men, including a railway signalman, a World War I hero and Nazi general, and a master chess player, find key events in their lives intertwining as the events of the First and Second World Wars thrust them together at the center of a dangerous game. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,2000
Literary awards
premio primavera de novela, 

This edition

Format
208 pages, Paperback
Published
January 1, 2004 by Picador USA
ISBN
9780312422707
ASIN
0312422709
Language
English

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About the author

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ignacio padilla

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Member of the 'crack movement', redefining Latin American literature outside the confines of magical realism.

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Community Reviews

Rating(3.8 / 5.0, 52 votes)
5 stars
14(27%)
4 stars
16(31%)
3 stars
22(42%)
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52 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
TheDarkhorse
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Interesante construcción de los personajes. La historia de un hombre contada desde 4 perspectivas diferentes, narradas en distintos tiempos, voces y momentos temporales la configuración nunca se completa y deja al lector con la duda de hasta dónde llega la realidad dentro de esta ficción.

Juguemos a ser mortales suplantando dioses.
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Profile Image for Kimberly .
callmebookaholic
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I hate to say this, but this book was over my head. Made me feel like I was taking the SATs again, vocab section. I could tell that there was a lot of research incorporated of historical value and the creatively infused fictional interpretation was unique in style, but ultimately, I had a lot of trouble folllowing the name changes, who killed who, and general timeline of events.
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MurasakiNoTsuki
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I first came across this book when I was asked to 'debate' with the author about the 'death of magic realism'. It wasn't much a debate (i.e. we both agreed that magic realism wasn't 'dead'), but I did read his book and I think it's terrific.

Keep notes. It's a tricky one. Or just enjoy it!
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Oce
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Padilla, via Borges.

The game of chess, its decisive outcome, was perfect representation for the ways a novelist adopts a strategy, moves his pieces around according to his plan, and goes for the kill when the opportunity arises. At the back of the characters, with all their attendant complexities and motivations, we tended to assume it was the novelist who was doing the pushing. Behind the novelist, it was harder to see who was in control.

Full review: http://booktrek.blogspot.com/2014/07/...
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Profile Image for Kimberly .
silvernakami
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Muy interesante planteamiento sobre la identidad y la impostura. Cada sección del libro es una nueva perspectiva y otra vuelta de tuerca.
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Profile Image for Kimberly .
twofingers
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Trata de suplantaciones de identidad y las consecuencias psicológicas que vive quien se hace de la nueva identidad. El autor no es explícito en mostrar las respuestas y me confundí en muchas oportunidades.

Para mí fue un ejercicio mental entender esta trama... aún tengo pendientes por aclarar... jajajaja

La prosa del autor es bastante elaborada, disfrute muchas frases, dejó acá algunas:

"...y su rostro acusa ya el miedo de quien va descubriendo, acaso demasiado tarde, el valor de su corta vida de pronto amenazada."

"Lo cierto es que los términos de la partida quedaron pronto delineados con una claridad tal, que disuena con la atmósfera neblinosa que impregna toda la historia:..." (Mi comentario: la atmósfera que impregna toda historia es mucho más que neblina, es un nubarrón... :D)

"Debo reconocer que al principio este tipo de confesiones provocaba en mí la molesta sensación de quien se ve obligado a escuchar las intimidades de un extraño que no ha pedido nuestro aval para brindarnos su amistad."

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Profile Image for Kimberly .
_lost_n_frozen_
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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a founding member of the "crack" movement (along with jorge volpi, amongst others), mexican writer and diplomat ignacio padilla has written a half dozen novels and a number of short stories. shadow without a name is his only novel currently available in english translation (though a collection of his stories, antipodes, was published by fsg in 2004). shadow without a name (amphitryon) is a complex tale of identity and intrigue, set on two continents over some four decades following world war ii. brimming with nazis and fateful games of chess, padilla's novel is a literary labyrinth that requires careful contemplation, lest one lose themselves amidst the assumed identities and multiple deceits. shadow without a name is a taut, historical thriller that is both captivating and richly conceived.
n  individual faces, names, destinies were by then so submerged in the anonymity of armed multitudes that it would have been pointless to pretend the whirlpool of history could be calmed by the opinions of individuals flailing in its chaotic eddies.n

*translated from the spanish by peter bush (goytisolo, monzó, et al.) and anne mclean (vila-matas, cercas, rosero, cortázar, et al.)
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