The News from Paraguay: A Novel

“Brimming with rich descriptions of a beautiful country….The News From Paraguay evolves from a quirky, elegant tale of an unconventional love affair into a sweeping epic.” — Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Lily Tuck’s impressive novel offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of 19th century Paraguay, a largely untouched wilderness where European and American figures mix with the Spanish aristocracy of the capital and the indigenous peoples from the surrounding areas.

The year is l854. In Paris, Francisco Solano—the future dictator of Paraguay—begins his courtship of the young, beautiful Irish courtesan Ella Lynch with a poncho, a Paraguayan band, and a horse named Mathilde. Ella follows Franco to Asunción and reigns there as his mistress. Isolated and estranged in this new world, she embraces her lover's ill-fated imperial dream—one fueled by a heedless arrogance that will devastate all of Paraguay.

With the urgency of the narrative, rich and intimate detail, and a wealth of skillfully layered characters, The News from Paraguay recalls the epic novels of Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa.

For him it began with a bright blue parrot feather that fell from Ella Lynch's hat when she was horseback riding in the Bois de Boulogne. The year was 1854, and Francisco Solano Lopez -- "Franco," the future dictator of Paraguay -- began his courtship of the young, beautiful Irishwoman with a poncho, a Paraguayan band, and a horse named Mathilde.

From Paris, Ella Lynch follows Franco to Asunción, where she reigns as his mistress. Isolated and estranged in this new world, she embraces her lover's ill-fated dream -- one fueled by outsize imperial ambition and heedless arrogance, and with devastating consequences for Paraguay and all its inhabitants.

A historical epic that tells an unusual love story, The News from Paraguay offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of nineteenth-century Paraguay, a largely untouched wilderness where Europeans and North Americans intermingle with both the old Spanish aristocracy and native Guaraní Indians.

The urgency of the narrative, the imaginative richness of its intimate detail, and the wealth of characters whose stories are skillfully layered and unfolded recall the epic novels of Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa. The News from Paraguay captures the devastating havoc wrought on both a country's fate and a woman's heart by ruthless ambition and war.

“Impressively researched, lushly written… a splendid realization if its rich subject and Tuck’s best so far.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Decorous detail and vivid imagery.” - Los Angeles Times

“Vivid, intriguing . . . Tuck brings to life the lush, sensual, and brutal world of 19th-century Paraguay.” - Entertainment Weekly

“Reminiscent of Gabriel Garcia Marquez ... Tuck brings characters fully to life.” - Cleveland Plain Dealer

“THE NEWS FROM PARAGUAY captures the physical beauty of an exotic land in Tuck’s characteristically exact, evocative prose.” - Publishers Weekly

“Elegant …the author’s research is impressive … a rich and rewarding read.” - Publishers Weekly

“Compelling…the stuff that good fiction is made of: complex characters and an intricate narrative.” - Newsday

“A gripping read.” - Library Journal

“Beautifully written.” - Time

“Tuck’s prose is elegant, the subject well researched.” - New York Times Book Review

“Charming.” - Vogue

“The perfect setting for Tuck’s dark wit.” - The New Yorker

“Highly engaging…charming and beguiling…. Like a slowly opening fan whose slates reveal themselves one by one, so do the many stories within The News from Paraguay.” - San Francisco Chronicle

“The episodic style achieves many lovely moments…images are so vivid you can almost smell them.” - Washington Post Book World