The Matter of Desire — Edmundo Paz Soldan

“A Bolivian professor probes the depths of his rebel father's past in this taut, gritty tale of two dramatically different Americas” (Booklist).

The Matter of Desire is the story of Pedro, a Bolivian-American political scientist who teaches at a university in upstate New York. Having become entangled in an erotically charged romance with Ashley, a beautiful red-headed graduate student, he returns to Bolivia to seek answers to his own life by investigating the mysteries of his father's past. Trapped between two cultures, Pedro ultimately finds himself in an existential dilemma of tragic dimensions. The Matter of Desire combines elements of the political thriller and the family mystery with a torrid illicit love affair and brilliantly elucidates the complex relationship between Latin America and the United States.

Praise for The Matter of Desire

“South American politics meet Northeast academia in this . . . affecting novel about untangling a family past.” -- Publishers Weekly