No One Writes to the Colonel

A short novel set in a small Colombian town, it follows a retired colonel and his ailing wife as they live in poverty. Every week the colonel goes to the post office, hoping for a letter confirming the pension he is owed for his military service years earlier. Around him is a climate of political repression and quiet hardship. The only thing of value in their house is a fighting cock that belonged to their dead son. The book is spare and dignified, and it is a moving portrait of patience, pride and neglect.