Los fabuladores

In the early hours of January 22, 1961, twenty-four Spanish and Portuguese exiles hijacked an ocean liner in the Caribbean with the intention of launching a revolution to overthrow the dictatorships of Franco and Salazar. The plan was audacious, almost unbelievable. During the assault, one crew member was killed and another seriously wounded. The hijackers then decided, according to their account, to abandon the revolution in order to save the man's life. This is a true story. In an exceptional blend of narrative genres, straddling the adventure novel, journalistic chronicle, and biography, José Ignacio Carnero displays his talent and offers us a book full of rhythm and precision, built around the three protagonists of the hijacking, their exploits, their miseries, their mistakes, and their lies. Beyond the chronicle of an extraordinary event, this novel is an exploration of the power of imagination: that which drives us to act, which can broaden horizons or blind us. Perhaps there is no revolution more intimate —or more dangerous— than that of those who decide to believe in their own fable.