光明共和国

On the morning of the world's failure, people were busy searching for a group of homeless children. "The Dark Heart" and "Lord of the Flies" form a fictional chronicle of America and a fable-like modern apocalypse. The vast forest engulfs the children of San Cristobal, just as the mighty Eley river carries away tons of silt. Nature tries to create a new and strange civilization in these children's bodies; they, in turn, try to create a new world under the opaque canopy of the forest's leaves. They are children, wild and innocent, the dream of a new world and the legacy of the old. Ultimately, they betray us in a way that is both tragic and inevitable, and we, in turn, betray them in order to survive. Only the Eley river flows silently and unconcerned, like a fable that arrives too late.

With its weighty tone, mystical undertones, strong sense of nature, and intellectual hue, "The Bright Republic" is as dense as "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and as mysterious as "Pedro Páramo." It received widespread attention when it first came out and won the Heraldo Novel Prize.

In a fictional Central American city called San Cristobal, which was once no different from any other large city in its region--an economic hub that grew tea and citrus--the city became part of the modern world as small businesses thrived, hydroelectric dams were built, and the river was repaired. The people were immersed in prosperity but didn't realize their world had become a crude and meaningless structure, a network of bureaucracies that enveloped everyone. Their lives were like metronomes, rigid and boring, with some houses turning their inhabitants into reptiles, others turning them into people or insects.

One day, a group of unknown children appeared on the streets of San Cristobal, dressed in shabby clothes, malnourished, and speaking an incomprehensible language. At first, they beg for food, but soon they begin engaging in a series of destructive activities. Even more frightening, local children seem to be infected with their riotous energy, with some claiming to hear their thoughts and others joining them under the cover of night. When the government began searching for them, the children hid in the forest, then in the sewers, where they created a lawless place called the "Bright Republic"...

"The world doesn't end with a bang, but with a whisper." The children are the dream of a new world and the legacy of the old, and their appearance signaled the end of ancient American civilization, like a soft sigh that dispelled all the surrounding mist.

"Bolivar doesn't need any writing advice. He has already created a perfect world and demonstrated an outstanding talent beyond his age." Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa recommends this book wholeheartedly.

In "The Bright Republic," Bolivar not only uses bold narrative techniques to deal with ambiguous situations but also adds dimensions of metaphysics and dark fables, evoking a sense of tension and unease, akin to the sharpness of Conrad's "The Heart of Darkness," presenting the grandeur of a great literary work. The 2017 Heraldo Novel Prize jury wrote.

When you close the book, a sense of overwhelming powerlessness descends upon you, as if we live in this world but are always lost. Bolivar's writing style (precise and rigorous but not empty) helps us bear this heavy sense of powerlessness. "The Bright Republic" is a grand work of literature, pierced by a deep and uncertain old river. - Spanish Culture News

In fact, Bolivar's reconstruction process reveals the evolution of several important social concepts: violence, childhood, order, and fear. This is the most profound and hopeful core of "The Bright Republic."--Spanish National News

作者简介

安德烈斯·巴尔瓦（AndrésBarba，1975—），西语界当红小说家，已出版13部作品，除小说外包括了散文、诗歌及摄影集，作品被翻译成十种语言。同时，他也是托马斯·德·昆西、赫尔曼·梅尔维尔、约瑟夫·康拉德、亨利·詹姆斯和司各特·菲茨杰拉德等著名作家的西语译者。2010年，巴尔瓦被《格兰塔》杂志评选为二十二个最杰出的西语青年作家之一。曾于1997年和2006年两获托伦特·巴列斯特尔叙事文学奖，2007年获阿纳格拉玛散文奖，2011年获胡安·马奇叙事文学奖，2017年获赫拉尔德小说奖。译者简介蔡学娣，毕业于北京大学西班牙语语言文学专业，现任教于北京大学西葡语系，译有《迷情》《高山上的小邮局》等作品。