Daniel Alarcón - At Night We Walk in Circles

“Do you understand?” he asked.

“I do,” I said. “Thank you for your time.”

I stepped out, and he closed the door behind me.

The two shirtless men had gone, and I found myself in the middle of the block, buried in sound. I had nowhere to go. I was in no hurry. I stood there for a moment, trying to pick out a voice, any voice, from the din.

I would like to thank the Lannan Foundation, the Headlands Center for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation for their support. Mark Lafferty, Lila Byock, Joe Loya, and Adam Mansbach all stepped up at various points in the process to give me insight and encouragement on a manuscript that seemed, frankly, impossible to resolve. I am forever grateful.

This novel, like almost everything I write, is the product of a meandering, limitless conversation with my friend Vinnie Wilhelm. Thanks, brother.

Collectors is an invented place, but I owe a debt of gratitude to Carlos Álvarez Osorio, who first took me inside Lima’s prisons in 2007, and who has, on each subsequent visit, helped me understand what I was seeing. The men I met inside Lurigancho and Castro Castro trusted me with their stories, and for that I will always be grateful. My editors at Harper’s , Claire Gutierrez and Chris Cox, were very supportive of the research that became first a piece of nonfiction, and eventually part of this novel.

I’d like to thank Gustavo Lora and the Collazos family, who helped me discover T—. Walter Ventosilla’s play El Mandatario Idiota served as an early inspiration, and with his permission, I have adapted it here. Both Walter and Gustavo were members of Setiembre, the theater troupe on which Diciembre is based, and I have borrowed liberally from stories they shared with me.

My agent, Eric Simonoff, was helpful every step of the way. My editor, Megan Lynch, offered great advice, patience, and generosity, and helped make this book better in innumerable ways. Thank you.

Most of all, I’d like to thank my family — my parents, my sisters, their partners, their children, and especially my wife, Carolina, who made me laugh when I wanted to give up, gave me love when I needed it, and space when I was scared to ask for it.

Gracias, mi amor.

Daniel Alarcón was born in Peru and raised in Alabama. His collection of short stories, War by Candlelight , was published in 2005 to great acclaim, and was followed by a novel, Lost City Radio , in 2007. His writing has appeared in McSweeney’s, n+1 and Harper’s , and he has been named as one of the best 20 writers under 40 by the New Yorker . He lives in Oakland, California. At Night We Walk in Circles is his second novel.