The Sky Over Lima - Juan Gómez Bárcena

Peru, 1904. José Gálvez and Carlos Rodríguez are poets. Or, at least, they’d like to be. Sons of Lima’s elite in the early twentieth century, they scribble bad verses and read all the greats, especially their idol Juan Ramón Jímenez, the Spanish Maestro. Desperate for Jímenez’s latest work, unavailable in Lima, they decide to ask him for a copy. Convinced Jímenez won’t send two dilettantes his book, but he might favour a beautiful young woman, they write to him as the lovely, imaginary Georgina Hübner. Jímenez responds with a letter and a signed copy. Elated, and now the talk of their literary circle, José and Carlos write back. Their correspondence continues as the Maestro falls in love with Georgina, and the boys abandon poetry for the pages of Jímenez’s life. Set against the vibrant backdrop of bohemian taverns and social unrest in Peru at the turn of the century, The Sky Over Lima is being hailed as the most assured and inventive literary novel to come out of Spain in years.