Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord

From the bestselling author of "Corelli's Mandolin" and "The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts" comes an iridescent gem of storytelling that is "by turns wacky, mystical, and altogether compelling" ("Washington Post"). A young philosophy professor is the only citizen in his country who dares to renounce his country's cocaine mafia. This makes him the object of several assassination attempts and a national hero. His popularity, however, does not extend to the people he loves.

From The Publisher:

The setting for this iridescent gem of storytelling by the bestselling author of Corelli's Mandolin and The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts is an unnamed South American country where the rule of law has given way to the rule of the lawless and the laws of magic.

The young philosophy professor Dionisio Vivo is the only citizen who dares denounce his country's cocaine mafia. This makes him the object of several assassination attempts, as well as a national hero when the attempts on his life backfire with a regularity that is either farcical or supernatural. But Senor Vivo's immunity does not extend to the people he loves. Only Louis de Bernieres could so deftly manage the ensuing escalation from a macabre comedy to a wrenching tragedy of revenge. Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord is a work that engages on every level, delighting with its outsized characters and enchanting with its luminous prose.