Iosi Havilio: 3 books

Paradises are trees that abound in Buenos Aires, the fruits of which are known as poison beads. This is what the novel is about: the many kinds of paradise and the poisons that inhabit them.' Iosi Havilio Paradises might be a reimagining of Camus' Outsider - but in female form and living in 21st-century...

A house-husband’s life turns upside-down in this tale of death and resurrection. When José’s fireworks factory job ends explosively, he becomes apathetic. But soon he gets a new lust for life, and he discovers he possesses a gruesome talent. Unexpected and gripping, Petite Fleur’s Aira-esque flights of fancy will have you dying with laughter.

When her partner disappears, a young woman drifts towards Open Door, a small town in the Argentinean Pampas named after its psychiatric hospital. She finds herself living with an ageing ranch-hand, although a local girl also proves irresistible. This evocative book makes a quiet case for the possibility of finding contentment in unexpected places.