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GUEST: Alicia Kozameh, former Argentine political prisoner, author of “259 Leaps, the Last Immortal

A novel without chapters, “259 Leaps, the Last Immortal,” by Argentine author Alicia Kozameh, seeks to give voice to the experience of political exile. Through the fictionalized voice of Sara, the novel journeys through the labyrinth of the author’s political exile. Alicia Kozameh was a student of literature and philosophy at the National University of Rosario in Argentina before being arrested and detained as a political prisoner in 1975. She was released three years later narrowly escaping the fate of the disappeared, and left for Los Angeles, California as a political exile. It is at this point, with all the weight of what she had just experienced, where the novel “259 Leaps, the Last Immortal” begins. Through the 259 leaps in the book, the reader is drawn into Kozameh’s beautifully articulated memories, anecdotes, flashes of nostalgia, and philosophical musings about the difficulties of life in exile. Julian Ortega, author of “Poetics of Change” said Kozameh’s novel “is a surprising, engaging, exhilarating book from a gifted writer with a major story to tell.”

Alicia Kozameh will be presenting “259 Leaps, the Last Immortal,” as well as “Steps Under Water,” at Libreria Martinez Books & Art Gallery on Thursday, September 20th at 7 p.m. Libreria Martinez is located at 1110 N. Main St, Santa Ana, Ca 92701.

For more information, call 714-973-7900 or visit www.latinobooks.com