Breaking Lorca [Import] [Paperback]

Giles Blunt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 23, 2010

A master crime writer trains every weapon in his arsenal on a crime against humanity.

A literary novel that treads fearlessly into one of recent history’s most shocking moral crucibles.

In 1980s El Salvador, a young woman is detained in a government torture squad’s head-quarters, suspected of supporting guerilla forces. There, a bookish new recruit, Victor Peña, is assigned to assist in her interrogation. Before they learn so much as her name – Lorca – the squad relentlessly break her, body and soul. It is a terrifying journey into human cruelty and courage, one which years later – in the pinnacle of cosmopolitan America – still haunts the tormentor as dramatically as it does his victim.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An utterly vivid, completely disturbing account of how thugs with authority unrestrained by the rule of law and untempered by the quality of mercy can go about the physical, mental and emotional destruction of a person."
— The Gazette

"Giles Blunt writes with uncommon grace, style and compassion and he plots like a demon."
— Jonathan Kellerman, The New York Times bestselling author of Capital Crimes

"A tour de force, sorrowing and direct, sharp as a knife blade, beautifully written — an unforgettable window into the human capacity for cruelty and courage."
— The Globe and Mail


From the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Giles Blunt grew up in North Bay, Ontario. After spending over twenty years in New York City, he now lives in Toronto. He is the author of four crime novels set in the fictional city of Algonquin Bay and featuring John Cardinal as well as No Such Creature, which Random House Canada will publish in fall 2008. He lives in Toronto.


From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Vintage Canada; Reprint edition (February 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307357015
• ISBN-13: 978-0307357014
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,663,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sickening, July 15, 2009

By 

David Cole (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breaking Lorca (Hardcover)

I've loved Blunt's police procedurals - as a writer, i absolutely support leaving a series and writing in a new direction and when recently in Ottawa bought a hardcover version of this book at first sight. That given, Breaking Lorca - despite Blunt's obvious skills as a writer - is a sickening story of the rape and torture of a woman prisoner (why do bad men in fiction, especially serial killers, usually do this to women? is this a male fantasy project?); i'm not faint of heart (i work with law enforcement personnel), but the graphic details of "Lorca" that drone on and on become loathsome; i've no compelling identification with any of the characters and scarcely believe the ending.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Horrific yet wonderful book, June 25, 2009

By 

R. Blacklock (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breaking Lorca (Hardcover)

After having recently read Blunt's less than impressive, "No Such Creature", I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. I was curious if he could bring back some of the magic from his Cardinal series. In a word, the answer is "yes". This is probably one of the most difficult books I've ever read, and I must give Blunt credit as an author for making the torture scenes so believable and gut-wrenching. Overall a wonderful book, that you won't easily forget if you can get through the first half. If I was in charge of El Salvadoran tourism I wouldn't like this book nearly as much :)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Different direction for Blunt, March 9, 2009

By 

Luanne Ollivier - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breaking Lorca (Hardcover)

Giles Blunt is one of my favourite Canadian authors. I'm a big fan of the John Cardinal mysteries and loved his last stand alone novel No Such Creature. Breaking Lorca is a complete departure from earlier works.

Victor, a bookish, reluctant soldier in El Salvador is 'rescued' from death by firing squad by his uncle. His uncle, Captain Pena, is a specialist in the army - an interrogation expert. He means to school Victor in his trade. He is an expert in torture. When a suspected female rebel, Lorca, is imprisoned, Pena decides that she should be Victor's learning ground. Victor is not by nature a violent, evil man. In fact he describes himself as a coward. What will someone do to keep themself alive?

This is not an easy read. Descriptions and dialogue are absolutely horrific and brutal. I did have to read it in small doses. What kept me going? My faith in Giles Blunt as an author. The second part of the novel moves to America, where Victor seeks redemption from his past. But can the past ever be escaped?

What possessed Blunt to write such a novel? He was inspired by Canadian author and activist Margaret Atwood's poem "Footnote to the Amnesty Report on Torture", which imagines "a fearful man paid to clean up the torture chamber."

A compelling, thought provoking narrative of what is most likely happening somewhere in the world at this moment. I was glad I chose to read til the last page.