Pin Pan Pun
Alejandro Rebolledo
1998, a year away from the millennium, and Caracas is already living with the premonition of the disaster to come. Pin Pan Pun is the harsh, cynical, and exuberant chronicle of a society on the verge of collapse.
"Julian, Cayman, Chicharra, and Luis. Among the Palos Grandes gang there are only two of us left. Cayman in a wheelchair and me. Chicharra got killed in 1987. Like a lunatic he drove a BMW to Sarría to score blow. He never got out. Julián said goodbye in 92. He shot himself because of Claudia..."
Finalist of the Rómulo Gallegos Award in 1999, Pin Pan Pun became an immediate best-seller in late 20th century Caracas. That same year the public awarded it the Urbe Prize for the best novel of the year.
Twenty years after its publication, the novel seems to have been written yesterday. A classic of Venezuelan literature. The novel of the pre-millennium.
By 1998 Pin Pan Pun closes an era and imagines an impossible 21st century.
For this special edition commemorating the 20th anniversary of its publication, Joaquin Urbina, designer of the first edition, makes a graphic upgrade to connect the pop sensibility of 1998 with the 2020s.
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"The Venezuelan novel of my generation." Edgar Ramirez, two-time Golden Globe nominee and winner of a César du cinéma.
"Caracas changed after reading Pin Pan Pun! Alejandro had the gift of capturing a moment and making it immortal!” Boris Izaguirre, first runner-up for the 2007 Planeta Prize.
“Trainspotting my ass” José Luis Pardo, Grammy nominee and Latin Grammy winner.
"Quadrophenia caraqueño without scooters" Joselo, Cafe Tacuba, winner of five Latin Grammys and a Grammy.
"A return forward for Venezuelan literature." El Nacional (original note).