The Condor’s Riddle

Who is the dead man lying in front of the convent in Santa Clara by the Sea? Was he already dead before he died in Santa Clara? Bebei, a simpleminded French archivist with a photographic memory, must solve an ever-deepening mystery to calm the streets. But it will also take a village of friends and helpers: a Caribbean ex-president who lives among cats; a Chinese stripper with a doll face; a Rastafarian workaholic; a Greek sea captain; even a remorseful German terrorist, who shares a vagabond life on the church stairs with a runaway Wall Street investor and a stoned Canadian hippie. With these and other characters, The Condor's Riddle adds to the exotic literature of Latin America, where timeworn splendors provide a haunting backdrop for the tragicomedy of modern times.