The protagonist, recently released from prison after having served time for taking part in the bid for Catalan independence, finds himself implicated in a murder he is entirely innocent of. Forced into hiding to escape the police, he sets about trying to discover who is behind the crime, aided solely by his son -still in the stage of trying out his pronouns-, the most foulmouthed shepherd in Catalonia and a local journalist in the dumps. A son who provides invaluable help, in a plot driven by the jockeying of third-tier politicians to establish themselves in local government or who harbor the ambition of ascending to the first division of Catalan politics, all of which is marked by a growing series of inexplicable events.
Featuring an indefatigable protagonist who wins you over, action that is well-narrated and relentless, brilliant dialogues and large doses of humor, the novel plunges us into a glamourless hinterland of industrial parks and working-class housing developments, while also painting a scathing portrait of the wretchedness of local politics. An action-packed rollercoaster that will keep us glued to its pages on its wild ride.
Set in a depressed but still undefeated backcountry, Radio Free Camaco marks Edgar Cantero’s return to Catalan after publishing three books in North America. His latest is a noir novel with fantastical touches and loads of humor that speaks of the oppressed, rebels and green shoots of hope emerging from the asphalt.
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