The Nubian Prince: A Novel [Hardcover]

Juan Bonilla (Author), Esther Allen (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2006

A cutting, comic odyssey of a hapless hero ensnared by globalization, humanitarian aid, and the international sex trade, from an award-winning young Spanish writer

To save lives and get handsomely paid for it--what job could be more rewarding? Moises Froissard has found the career opportunity of his dreams. After a start as a conventional bleeding heart with an idealistic aid group, he quickly wises up to the harsh reality of a world in which human life is just another product in a competitive marketplace. Now he travels the globe on the trail of illegal immigrants, refugees, and other ordinary souls brought low by war, natural disaster, or economic collapse. Scouting the slums and gutters of the world, Moises's task is to unearth nature's most beautiful men, women, and children and save them--for Club Olympus, a top-price international sex club.

Then Moises receives his toughest assignment yet: to find a "Nubian prince," an African illegal caught fleetingly in the pages of a glossy magazine. The man is so painfully desirable that Club Olympus will sacrifice anything to have him--even Moises himself. Our narrator begins the chase, dazed, prevaricating, self-obsessed, funny, a little cruel, a little sentimental.

The Nubian Prince takes place in a pitiless world where the have-nots will do anything to become haves, while the privileged don't know what to live for. Hilarious, moving, sexually explosive, and deeply disturbing, this bestselling Spanish novel introduces a new European star.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Moises Froissard's job is "to save lives." At least, that's what he tries to believe throughout El Mundo columnist Bonilla's bittersweet fourth novel. While there may be a grain of truth in his proclamation, the reality of Moises's occupation is less noble: he's a "scout" for secretive, exclusive Club Olympus, a supplier of beautiful and expensive prostitutes to the rich and famous. As a scout, Moises travels to exotic (and, usually, poverty-stricken) locales in search of beautiful men, women and children willing to become "models" for the club as a way out of their grim circumstances. While proud of his growing list of recruits, Moises is guarded about his job and uses his travels to isolate himself from his troubled family. Though the fleeting emotional attachments he sometimes forms with the "pieces" he scouts for the club violate the cardinal rule of his employment, it doesn't become a problem until Moises's first recruit, Luzmila, becomes a scout. When the two are pitted against each other in a race to recruit the "Nubian Prince," a handsome African coveted by an obsessed client, Luzmila relishes the opportunity to upstage Moises as revenge for recruiting her, and Moises is forced to confront his growing distaste for the job. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

He tells himself he is saving lives. Moises Froissard, 22, gives up his philanthropic work as an artist without borders and becomes a global talent scout, searching for beautiful illegal immigrants--men, women, and especially children--and persuading them to enjoy the good life as prostitutes rented out to the wealthy. His boss, who runs the sex training and supply business, is direct: famines and floods are a boon because they give the trade some beautiful "pieces," provided that the famine has not done them too much damage before the scouts get there. She especially wants Moises to grab one gorgeous African illegal who she could market as "the Nubian prince." This is more a short story or situation than a novel, but it was a prizewinner in Spain, and the English translation ably captures the casual, intimate first-person narrative. The dark mockery of the powerful and the self-righteous is in eloquent contrast to the exploitation and the heartfelt anguish of those with no home. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Metropolitan Books; 1st edition (June 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805077812
• ISBN-13: 978-0805077810
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,508,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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