World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Laura Restrepo

ラウラ・レストレポ

Laura Restrepo

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1950-01-01 （Bogotá, Colombia）
Nationality
Colombia
Languages
Spanish
Residence History
Colombia (Bogotá, etc.) → Spain (Madrid) → Argentina → Mexico (exile period) → United States (residence/teaching) → Denmark (short-term) → California (brief)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Journalist, Political activist, University lecturer
Active Years
1975-
Affiliations
Semana (magazine), Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (membership period), Cornell University (Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large 2007–2013), University of Seville (visiting/teaching)
Memberships
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (membership period)
Influenced By
William Saroyan, John Steinbeck, Nikos Kazantzakis, Gabriel García Márquez (acquaintance)

Education

University of the Andes (Universidad de los Andes)
Philosophy
Degree: 学士（哲学）
Period: 在籍年不詳（若年に入学）
Country: Colombia
Enrolled young and studied philosophy. Reported to have a postgraduate degree in political science.
University-level postgraduate institution (unspecified)
Political science (postgraduate)
Degree: ポストグラド（政治学）
Country: Colombia
Exact institution and year not clearly specified in available sources.

Awards

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize
1997
Work: Dulce Compañía (The Angel of Galilea)
Organization: Guadalajara International Book Fair
Result: 受賞
Arzobispo San Clemente Award
2002
Work: El Leopardo al Sol (Leopard in the Sun)
Organization: Organization unspecified in source
Result: 受賞
Premio Alfaguara de Novela (VII)
2004
Work: Delirio (Delirium)
Organization: Alfaguara (publisher)
Result: 受賞
Grinzane Cavour Prize (best foreign fiction)
2006
Category: 外国文学（Best foreign fiction）
Organization: Grinzane Cavour Foundation
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
2007
Organization: Guggenheim Foundation
Result: 受賞（フェローシップ）
Prix France Culture
Work: Dulce Compañía
Organization: France Culture (radio/cultural organization)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Historia de un Entusiasmo (Story of a Fascination)

1986 Non-fiction / Political memoir

A first-hand account of peace negotiations between the Colombian government and guerrillas; includes Restrepo's experiences with threats and exile.

Peace negotiationsPoliticsExileMemory

Isla de la pasión (Isle of Passion)

1989 Historical fiction / Novel

A historical novel set on Clipperton Island during the Mexican Revolution and World War I, following soldiers and their families.

IsolationSurvivalHuman relationships

El Leopardo al Sol (Leopard in the Sun)

1993 Social novel

Tells the story of a war between two families tied to the Colombian drug trade and the eruption of violence across decades.

ViolenceFamilyDrugs

Dulce Compañía (The Angel of Galilea)

1995 Fiction (religious / satirical)

A novel about the commotion surrounding a purported 'angel' in a poor neighborhood, blending folklore, comedy, spirituality and politics.

ReligionSocial satireFeminism

La Novia Oscura (The Dark Bride)

1999 Journalistic fiction

Set in a small Colombian town, a journalistic-style narrative explores the life of a prostitute named Sayonara and the community around her.

Margins of societyJournalistic perspectiveIdentity

La Multitud Errante (A Tale of the Dispossessed)

2001 Social novel

Set in a convent shelter for refugees, the novel follows displaced people searching for lost ties and a promised land.

RefugeesReunionLoss

Olor a rosas invisibles (The Scent of Invisible Roses)

2002 Romance

A nostalgic love story about long-separated lovers who reconnect after decades and grapple with past constraints.

Forbidden loveReunionReminiscence

Delirio (Delirium)

2004 Psychological novel

A husband finds his wife in a state of madness and uncovers vague secrets about her past as he searches for answers.

MadnessFamily secretsMemory
Translations
  • English translation available (Delirium)

Demasiados héroes (Too Many Heroes)

2009 Political / historical fiction

Explores the Argentine dictatorship of the late 1970s through layered storytelling about a mother and son and political memory.

DictatorshipMemoryFamily

Hot Sur

2013 Immigrant / cross-cultural novel

Set in the United States, it follows a Colombian woman navigating life in a foreign country and the interplay of memory and identity.

MigrationIdentityMemory

Bibliography

  • Historia de un Entusiasmo (Story of a Fascination)
  • Isla de la pasión (Isle of Passion)
  • Las vacas comen espaguetis (The Cows Eat Spaghetti)
  • El Leopardo al Sol (Leopard in the Sun)
  • Dulce Compañía (The Angel of Galilea)
  • La Novia Oscura (The Dark Bride)
  • La Multitud Errante (A Tale of the Dispossessed)
  • Olor a rosas invisibles (The Scent of Invisible Roses)
  • Delirio (Delirium)
  • Demasiados héroes (Too Many Heroes)
  • Hot Sur

Translations of Works

  • Delirium (English translation)
  • The Dark Bride (English translation)
  • Leopard in the Sun (English translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Report-style blending journalism and fictionRealistic style embedding political and social issues
Recurring Motifs
Tragedy and lossMemory and past violenceExile and displacementFamily ties and solidarity

Legacy

Laura Restrepo is known for a unique style that blends investigative journalism with fiction and is a major figure in contemporary Colombian literature. Her politically engaged works addressing social margins are widely referenced in academia.

Quotes

  • “I needed a formula that would allow me to slightly violate the verifiable facts so that my personal interpretation would not be offensive.”
    Source: Interview (BOMB Magazine, Jaime Manrique, 2002) (2002)

Trivia

  • Her grandfather was self-taught and spoke six languages.
  • In childhood her family moved frequently and she attended public school only briefly at times.
  • In the 1980s she served on a peace negotiating commission and later went into exile in Mexico after receiving death threats.
  • She served as an Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University from 2007 to 2013.