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The Saint Perpetuus Club
of Buenos Aires
 
by Eric Stener Carlson
 
Hidden away in the pages of an old copy of Lives of the Saints in a strange second-hand bookshop is a diary brimming with heresy and claims of supernatural powers. When civil servant Miguel Ibañez stumbles across it he at first believes it to be the ravings of a mad man. But what if it is true? What if the anonymous author has really learned the secrets of controlling time? Could Miguel acquire the same skills and thereby correct the incongruities in his own life?
 
Trapped in a mediocre job at a forgotten Ministry, his marriage falling apart, Miguel desperately searches for more hidden entries. He is led on an increasingly frantic chase through the bookstores, abandoned buildings and dark subways of Buenos Aires.
 
Miguel's obsession brings him to the doors of the Saint Perpetuus Club, a secret society that holds the key to the salamanca, the cave where the Devil grants all wishes . . . for a price.
 
The deeper Miguel goes, the more he wonders whom he can trust. His wife, his friends, his old philosophy professor? Perhaps they are all members of the Club? Is Miguel willing to risk his life, even his immortal soul, to uncover the secrets of The Saint Perpetuus Club of Buenos Aires?
 
The Saint Perpetuus Club of Buenos Aires is a sewn hardback novel of 233 pages with silk ribbon marker, head and tailbands, and d/w. Limited to 300 copies.
 
ISBN 978-1-905784-16-5
 
£25.00/$45 inc. p&p.
 
Eric Stener Carlson (Minnesota, 1969) is the author of I Remember Julia: Voices of the Disappeared and The Pear Tree: Is Torture Ever Justified? His work has appeared in journals in the UK, US, Argentina and Spain. He travels frequently but always returns to his small flat in Buenos Aires. Eric Stener Carlson
 
Reviews:
 
"The multi-layered narrative is full of surprises, and the conclusion provides a modest grace note that beautifully befits the tale." - Christopher Fowler, Financial Times
 
"If there is one book you should spend your hard earned money on this year, you should make it The Saint Perpetuus Club of Buenos Aires. If you like Strange Tales, Mysteries, or Thrillers – or if you just enjoy an eloquently written piece of literature – you should not miss the opportunity to pick this book up. This is the finest book I have had the pleasure of reading this year. It kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end." - She Never Slept!
 
"At bottom, it’s a deal with the Devil story, and as always in these it’s the Devil who has the last laugh, but made special by the distinctive tone and the wealth of ideas planted in the text. Recommended." Peter Tennant, Black Static 17
 

"...before I had even read a page, I wanted to love the story as much as I loved the paper it had been printed on and the binding it had been sewn into. ... And I did love it, but I loved it in a strange, unsettling, way. Carlson has created a story that is neither occult, nor science fiction nor theology even though elements of all are included." - David Mitchell, Bibliobuffet

"Unpredictable and steeped in allusions to classic and contemporary works, this spry exercise in magic realism can be enjoyed as a parable on how our reading transforms our perception of the world." - Publishers Weekly

 
"This work should appeal to fans of good writing and the occult. The prose is top-notch and great care has been taken in providing the reader with an intellectual, multi-layered story." - Grim Rictus Reviews
 
"...a captivating novel written in a sparkling style, precise yet imaginative." - Mario Guslandi at Rick Kleffel's Agony Column

Page updated 30th August 2010