Otto
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Book Overview
I was born in 1934 in a little lost village near San Cristobel de Torondoy eleven months after my brother. Unlike him, who was astonishingly handsome, I was astonishingly ugly. I was covered in black hair from head to foot like some kind of monkey. For some reason my ear-drums burst within days of my birth. The local doctor told my mother ''This little boy is not going to live, and if he does, he's going to be daft or half-witted''. But against all the hopes of the family, it was my brother who died, and I survived.' This extraordinary novel is based on a true story of a revolutionary who was advisor to Castro, friend of President Salvador Allende, and married to a woman who became one of the leaders of the Kurdish rebellion in Iran. There is a poignancy in his life, forever underlined by the leading roles thrown on him - like hoopla rings at a fair. Code-named Otto, he became an enemy of both the KGB and the CIA and all by chance, by a twist of fate, or by someone else's design. From the mountains of Venezuela, to the streets of Paris, from the heart of Cuba to rain-drenched London, this is a fabulous and picaresque journey of the lives and loves (plenty of those) of an astonishing man.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:1860497578
ISBN13:9781860497575
Release Date:January 2005
Publisher:Virago Press (UK)
Length:512 Pages
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
Cervantes meets Castro and other revolutionaries.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
I had never heard of the author or the book, but bought it as one of three books to sustain me on a two-week trip in Asia. On more than one occasion, I was asked by strangers what I was reading that made me lol. This is, quite simply, one of the best books that I have ever read. There is a sadness over the failures of human nature with a sweetness and lyrical humor. More than once, I thought of Cervantes. Only here, you get Castro and a whole, wide, cast of characters. A classic.
silya the translator::)
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
hi:) this is my first time writing a review... and I am so proud that I am writing this review for the book I am translating from English to Turkish:) I can say that this book is fascinating. Teran has made her best efforts for writing this book. Otto is a great character, who has a very very different life than you would imagine... I am laughing and I am crying at some pages... but I am really having fun while reading and translating:) so, what I can say is that you really have to buy and read this book and have a journey throughout in otto's life which passed on the WORLD:)
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