The Colombian novelist mixed fiction and fact to capture the outsize reality of Latin America. Even if you’ve never watched a priest levitate, a carpet fly or a drop of blood climb over curbs, there’s something for you.
No stranger to blue-collar work herself, she pushed for equality in male-dominated unions and as a writer chronicled the struggles of “sisters in the brotherhoods.”
“I queued up to get his autograph with nothing but a dollar bill for him to sign,” says the pop star, whose debut novel is “This Bird Has Flown.” “He glanced up, amused, gave me a mischievous half-smile and said, ‘Ah, defacing U.S. currency,’ and proceeded to sign it.”