Aura

"I read Aura as a teenager and it both terrified and fascinated me, but above all it invited me to join that search among dark corners that is literature. It is a very brief and self-contained novel that maintains the tension in each line. What I most admire about it is its ability to build atmosphere and cause us to feel trapped in this shady house among the smell of moss and decaying plants. Not to mention the character of Aura, who is a horrendous and beautiful witch at the same time; I’m someone who loves stories with witches , that dual aspect that overcomes all boundaries, especially those of good and evil."

"This book is an über-homage to Edgar Allan Poe and Jorge Luis Borges . It is a gothic piece. It’s a horror , a mystery , a Borgesian sleight of hand. Once you have read it, the effect changes and you become admiring of its technique. But on first reading it is a wonderfully surprising story, with a denouement which in retrospect is predictable but is enchanting. Yes. And although it is not set in Cuba, and he isn’t Cuban, I wanted to include him because he has great literary sensibilities. I think it is an exceptional book and one of the important novels to come out of Latin America."