Osvaldo Soriano

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Osvaldo Soriano (born January 6, 1943 in Mar del Plata - died January 29, 1997 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine journalist and writer.

Soriano worked on the La Opinión newspaper staff since the paper's creation in 1971, sharing in its offensive against the bourgeois and right-wing ideologies. The newspaper was permeated with politics and soon there was an attempt to squash the left-wing influence. After six month of not having any article published, he started writing a story in which a character named Osvaldo Soriano reconstructs the life of the English actor Stan Laurel. This became his first novel, Triste, solitario y final ("Sad and lonely and final"), a melancholic parody set in Los Angeles with Philip Marlowe as his joint investigator. It was some months after the publication of his novel that he visited the American city, and actually stood by the grave of the great actor, leaving there a copy of his book.

After the coup d'etat in Argentina of 1976, he moved to Paris, where he lived until 1984. While in France he worked together with fellow countryman Julio Cortazar on a monthly magazine "Sin censura". On his return to Buenos Aires, the publication of his books met with a large success, not only in South America but in the entire world.

In his books, Soriano succeeded in mixing his experience as a democratic activist and a strong critic of the violence of established power with an extraordinary humour. A lover of both football and cinematography, he often honored both in his work; he was a known San Lorenzo fan.

After his death in 1997, he was buried in the La Chacarita Cemetery in Buenos Aires. His work has since been translated into at least 15 different languages, and has inspired 6 films.

[edit] Bibliography

Main works:

Triste, solitario y final (1973)
No habra más penas ni olvido (1979, in Argentina 1983)
Cuarteles de invierno (1981, in Argentina 1983)
Artistas, locos y criminales (1983)
A Funny Dirty Little War (1986) Translation of No habra más penas ni olvido by Nick Caistor
Rebeldes, soñadores y fugitivos (1987)
A sus plantas rendido un león (1988)
Winter Quarters (1989) Translation of Cuarteles de invierno by Nick Caistor
Una sombra ya pronto serás (1990)
El ojo de la patria (1992)
Cuentos de los años felices (1993)
Shadows (1993) Translation of ''Una sombra ya pronto serás by Alfred MacAdam
La hora sin sombra (1995)
Fútbol (1998, a compilation of football (soccer) short stories)