Lotería: A Novel
Mario Alberto Zambrano
Jul 2013 · Harper Collins
4.2star
12 reviewsreport
Ebook
288
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
In this literary debut, a young girl tells of her traumatic life via a Mexican card game in a “heart-wrenching tale of violence, love and a broken family” (Los Angeles Times).
With her older sister Estrella in the ICU and her father in jail, eleven-year-old Luz Castillo has been taken into the custody of the state. Alone in her room, she retreats behind a wall of silence, writing in her journal and shuffling through her beloved deck of lotería cards, a Latin American game of chance . Each of the cards’ colorful images—mermaids, bottles, spiders, death, and stars—sparks a random memory.
Pieced together, these snapshots bring into focus the joy and pain of the young girl’s life, and the events that led to her present situation. But just as the story becomes clear, a breathtaking twist changes everything.
By turns affecting and inspiring, Lotería is a powerful novel that reminds us of the importance of remembering, even when we are trying to forget.
Beautiful images of lotería cards are featured throughout this intricate and haunting novel.
“A taut, fraught, look at tragedy, its aftermath, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.” —Justin Torres, National Book award-winning author of Blackouts
“Sheer genius.” —Booklist, starred review
“Loteria . . . captures, from a wide-eyed yet uncloying child’s perspective, the way in which life can feel a lot like a game of chance.” —Vogue
“Like the novels of Cortazar, its form is intricate and beautiful.” —Charles Baxter, author of The Feast of Love
“An intriguing debut and an elegiac, miniature entry in the literature of Latin American diaspora that will break your heart.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
With her older sister Estrella in the ICU and her father in jail, eleven-year-old Luz Castillo has been taken into the custody of the state. Alone in her room, she retreats behind a wall of silence, writing in her journal and shuffling through her beloved deck of lotería cards, a Latin American game of chance . Each of the cards’ colorful images—mermaids, bottles, spiders, death, and stars—sparks a random memory.
Pieced together, these snapshots bring into focus the joy and pain of the young girl’s life, and the events that led to her present situation. But just as the story becomes clear, a breathtaking twist changes everything.
By turns affecting and inspiring, Lotería is a powerful novel that reminds us of the importance of remembering, even when we are trying to forget.
Beautiful images of lotería cards are featured throughout this intricate and haunting novel.
“A taut, fraught, look at tragedy, its aftermath, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.” —Justin Torres, National Book award-winning author of Blackouts
“Sheer genius.” —Booklist, starred review
“Loteria . . . captures, from a wide-eyed yet uncloying child’s perspective, the way in which life can feel a lot like a game of chance.” —Vogue
“Like the novels of Cortazar, its form is intricate and beautiful.” —Charles Baxter, author of The Feast of Love
“An intriguing debut and an elegiac, miniature entry in the literature of Latin American diaspora that will break your heart.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
Ratings and reviews
4.2
12 reviews
Brianna Swedberg
- Flag inappropriate
August 20, 2013
great story for those who are recovering themselves just like Luz.
2 people found this review helpful
Francisco Neto
- Flag inappropriate
January 15, 2023
bom
About the author
Mario Alberto Zambrano published his debut novel Lotería in 2013 with Harper. He’s the recipient of a Presidential Scholar Award, Princess Grace Award, NEA Fellowship in Literature, Alice Hoffman Prize for Fiction, along with multiple residencies across the globe including Hawthornden Castle in Scotland, England. He has served as Lecturer in Theater, Dance & Media at Harvard University and is currently the Associate Director of Dance at The Juilliard School.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
