Juan Pablo Villalobos has lived in Barcelona since 2003. All of his novels have been published by Anagrama and translated into more than fifteen languages: They include Down the Rabbit Hole (And Other Stories), described as ‘Funny, convincing, appalling’ by Ali Smith, and ‘a superb fable with a cruelly happy ending that reads like an initiation novel fizzing with carbonation’ by Laura Fernández; Quesadillas, praised as ‘a work that plays with notions of magic realism. But it is Villalobos’s quirky, laconic style that most impresses and marks him out as a writer of distinction’ (Lucy Popescu, The Independent); I’ll Sell You a Dog, acclaimed as ‘one of the most ingenious, playful and enjoyable books published in Spanish in a long time’ (Alberto Manguel); I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me (Herralde Prize, 2016), lauded because ‘the author’s intelligence prevails… a hugely valuable literary proposition’ (Francisco Solano, El País); Invasion of the Spirit People, called ‘very entertaining, as agile as a happy walker, a celebration of friendship, of hope’ (Nadal Suau, El Mundo); Peluquería y letras (Hairdressing and Letters), described as ‘a novel about a domestic epic, about banal gestures that interlock to form an intense, personal family tableau full of absurd, at times surreal, scenes’ (Ricardo Baixeras, El Periódico); ‘as if Buster Keaton finally tried to hint at a smile. A novel without conflict, about happiness’ (Daniel Fermín, Zenda); and El pasado anda atrás de nosotros (The Past Walks Behind Us). He has also published the non‑fiction book The Other Side, described as ‘a harrowing chronicle of Central American migration to the US… Outstanding’ (Luisgé Martín).
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