National Novel Award, Bolivia 2019

The story introduces us of the Pacsi cousins. One of them, the protagonist, was born and raised in Bolivia; whilst the other, Tayson, the son of Bolivian parents, was born in Brazil and raised there. Both are seventeen years old, both are undertaking pre-military service in the Air Force, and both, on the cusp of coming of age, have to think about what they will do with their lives in the future.

Seoul, São Paulo recounts the lives of these two teenagers, their passions, their dreams for the future and their search for identity. And as a backdrop, migration – that phenomenon which reshapes families, mixes languages, creates a sense of otherness and shapes identities.

Adolescence, sexual awakening, migration, friendship, racism… Gabriel Mamani Magne offers us a work written with humour, intelligence and a fresh style that will leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Mamani has created a world with which we gradually come to identify, and the result is a novel that is truly original, unique and effective in its subtle criticism, and in which language plays no small part, given its variety and appeal. J. A. Masoliver Ródenas, La Vanguardia

Mamani Magne builds a black comedy with tragic overtones, using spontaneous language and a frenetic pace. Emiliano Monge, El País

With an acid and humorous language, the text follows the characters, while provoking reflections on power relationships, xenophobia, racism and identity shaping. Flávia Mantovani, Folha De S.Paulo

This novel caused an earthquake on the literary scene of Bolivia. Far from the celebration of miscegenation or the tragic defeat that always marked the indigenous being in Bolivian literature, Mamani holds a sweet and ironic gaze over a family that cries, laughs and drinks to the rhythm of cumbia. José Pablo Criales, El País

With this perfectly crafted novel, the author has made a literary debut that makes you want to read more. Christian Authier, Le Figaro

With its quick writing, this novel of unlearning mocks, with gentle wit, the identity constraints imposed on a youth closer to k-pop than to national anthems. Ariane Singer, Le Monde Des Livres

A beautiful novel that reveals profound insights through humor, grace and melancholy. Alain Marciano, benzinemag.net magazine, France

A story with personality, with consistency, like someone who appropriately manages the threads of the narrative but is not satisfied with it and decides to strip his characters naked and show them in all their dimension and vulnerability. Página Siete

These novel traces the deepest problems of identity, not only of the individual, but of being Bolivian in general. And it does it in a way that the reader can’t stop turning the page. Ariadne Ávila, La Razón

Subtle humor, vivacious dialogue, and an emotional ease with profound poetry. Evelin Paniagua Cardozo, Los Tiempos

The new juice of Latin American literature is squeezed by Mamani in this book. Octavio Gómez Milián, Zona de Obras

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