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Bookworm

Álvaro Enrigue: Sudden Death

Álvaro Enrigue's Sudden Death is the wild tale of a tennis match between the poet Francisco de Quevedo and the artist Caravaggio that transcends time and involves other historically transformative, and often combative, figures. Enrigue, who calls his impulse to write "visceral and erratic," was angered into starting this book by the 2008 financial crisis.

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By Michael Silverblatt • Mar 2, 2017 • 28m Listen

Anger at the 2008 financial crisis inspired Álvaro Enrigue's Sudden Death, the wild tale of a tennis match between the poet Francisco de Quevedo and the artist Caravaggio that transcends time and involves other transformative, often combative, historic icons. Enrigue, who calls his impulse to write "visceral and erratic," explains that the world is no longer linear and the novel must adapt to remain a thing of beauty, not to change the world (it can't), but to change our thinking.

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    Michael Silverblatt

    host, 'Bookworm'

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    Connie Alvarez

    Communications Director

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    Alan Howard

    Bookworm Collaborator

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    Álvaro Enrigue

    Award-winning novelist and short story writer

    CultureBooksArts
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