Peruvian writer Gustavo Rodríguez wins the 2023 Alfaguara Novel Prize

Gustavo Rodríguez (Lima, 54 years old) has been the winner of the 2023 Alfaguara Novel Prize with

.

The jury of this twenty-sixth edition, chaired by the Argentine writer Claudia Piñeiro, highlighted the winning work as "a tragicomic novel, set in today's Lima, which reflects one of the great conflicts of our time: we are increasingly long-lived and increasingly hostile to older people.

Paradox that Gustavo Rodríguez addresses with skill and humor.

A moving book whose protagonists care, are cared for and defend dignity to its ultimate consequences”.

The other members of the jury are the editor and translator Carolina Orloff, the bookseller of Letras Corsarias Rafael Arias García, the writer Juan Tallón, the journalist from EL PAÍS and writer Javier Rodríguez Marcos and the editorial director of Alfaguara, Pilar Reyes (with voice, but no vote).

One hundred guinea pigs

accompanies Eufrasia Vela through the streets of Lima in her fight for daily survival.

Frasia, as she is known, takes care of several elderly people in a wealthy neighborhood and establishes an intense relationship with them that will place her, faced with her inevitable decline, at a crossroads.

A reflection on old age and the way contemporary societies deal with it, the winning novel also delves into the abyss between classes and the fear of an uncertain future.

A publicist by training, the author of

(Alfaguara, 2018) defines himself as a mixture of Felisberto Hernández and Netflix.

The prize is endowed with 175,000 dollars (about 162,000 euros), a sculpture by Martín Chirino and simultaneous publication throughout the Spanish-speaking territory.

The winning novel will hit bookstores on March 23.

Last year the award went to the Chilean chronicler Cristian Alarcón.

The editorial has received 706 manuscripts, of which 296 have been sent from Spain, 112 from Argentina, 99 from Mexico, 81 from Colombia, 43 from the United States, 28 from Chile, 27 from Peru and 20 from Uruguay.

Far, in any case, from the record of 2,428 original works of 2021.