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Eduardo Halfon

エドゥアルド・ハフォン

Eduardo Halfon

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1971 （Guatemala City）
Nationality
Guatemala
Languages
Spanish
Residence History
Guatemala City (birth) → South Florida, USA — childhood / schooling → Guatemala — returned, taught literature → Paris, France — fellowship → Berlin, Germany — fellowship / residence

Career

Occupations
writer, novelist, educator (literature instructor)
Active Years
2003-

Education

North Carolina State University
College of Engineering / Industrial Engineering
Degree: 学士
Country: United States
Studied industrial engineering after schooling in South Florida

Awards

Hay Festival – Bogotá 39 (one of the best young Latin American writers)
2007
Organization: Hay Festival (Bogotá)
Result: 選出
José María de Pereda Prize for the Short Novel
2010
Work: The Pirouette (La pirueta)
Organization: José María de Pereda (Spain)
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
2011
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Prix Roger Caillois
2015
Organization: Prix Roger Caillois (France)
Result: 受賞
National Prize in Literature (Guatemala)
2018
Organization: Guatemalan National Prize in Literature
Result: 受賞
Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger
2018
Work: Mourning (Duelo)
Organization: France (Best Foreign Book prize)
Result: 受賞
Premio de las Librerías de Navarra
2018
Work: Mourning (Duelo)
Organization: Premio de las Librerías de Navarra (Spain)
Result: 受賞
Edward Lewis Wallant Award
2019
Work: Mourning
Organization: United States (Wallant Award)
Result: 受賞
International Latino Book Award
2019
Work: Mourning
Organization: International Latino Book Awards (USA)
Result: 受賞
Premio Cálamo
2021
Work: Canción
Organization: Premio Cálamo (Spain)
Result: 受賞
Berman Literature Prize
2024
Work: Canción
Organization: Berman Literature Prize (Sweden)
Result: 受賞
Prix Médicis étranger
2024
Work: Tarantula (Tarántula)
Organization: Prix Médicis (France)
Result: 受賞
Premio de la Crítica
2025
Work: Tarantula (Tarántula)
Organization: Premio de la Crítica (Spain)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Polish Boxer (El boxeador polaco)

2008 Novel / Fiction

A linked collection/novel that explores family, memory and identity, drawing on Latin American and Jewish family background.

familymemoryidentitymigration
Translations
  • English translation: The Polish Boxer (2012)

Monastery (Monasterio)

2012 Novel

A mid-length novel about solitude, memory and the history of place, where the author's memories and fiction intersect.

solitudememoryhistory
Translations
  • English translation: Monastery (2014)

Mourning (Duelo)

2017 Novel (contemporary fiction)

Deals with family death, loss and identity. The English translation has won several awards.

deathlossfamily
Translations
  • English translation: Mourning (2018)

Canción (Canción)

2021 Novel

A novel that explores memory, roots and language; it has received international recognition and several awards.

memoryrootslanguage
Translations
  • English translation: Canción (2022)

Tarantula (Tarántula)

2024 Novel

A recent novel exploring boundaries between memory and narrative. It has been recognized by literary prizes in France and Spain.

memorynarrativecross-cultural relations
Translations
  • English translation: Tarantula (publication information varies)

Bibliography

  • Esto no es una pipa, Saturno (2003)
  • De cabo roto (2003)
  • El ángel literario (2004)
  • Siete minutos de desasosiego (2007)
  • Clases de hebreo (2008)
  • Clases de dibujo (2009)
  • El boxeador polaco (2008)
  • La pirueta (2010)
  • Mañana nunca lo hablamos (2011)
  • Elocuencias de un tartamudo (2012)
  • Monasterio (2012)
  • Signor Hoffman (2015)
  • Duelo (2017)
  • Biblioteca bizarra (2018)
  • Canción (2021)
  • Un hijo cualquiera (2022)
  • Tarántula (2024)

Translations of Works

  • El boxeador polaco → The Polish Boxer (English translation)
  • Monasterio → Monastery (English translation)
  • Duelo → Mourning (English translation)
  • Canción → Canción (English translation)
  • Tarántula → Tarantula (English translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
autobiographical prose elementsfragmented, introspective narrationblurring boundaries between memory and fact
Recurring Motifs
family and lineagememory and losslanguage and mobilityJewish heritage

Legacy

Eduardo Halfon is a Guatemalan writer internationally recognized for works dealing with family, memory and identity. He has won and been shortlisted for multiple international awards, and his books have been translated into several languages including English.

Archives

  • National and institutional libraries/archives in various countries (details not specified)

Trivia

  • Moved to the United States at age ten.
  • Studied industrial engineering at North Carolina State University.
  • Returned to Guatemala and taught literature at Universidad Francisco Marroquín for about eight years.
  • Has held fellowships and lived in Paris and Berlin.