''Chromos'' is the second novel of Spanish-born American writer

Felipe Alfau Felipe Alfau (24 August 1902 – 18 February 1999) was a Spanish-born American novelist and poet. Most of his works were written in English. Biography Born in Barcelona, Alfau emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of four ...

(1902–1999), written in 1948 and published in 1990.

Composition and publication

Alfau described how he wrote the novel: "In the office between one document and another, I would write a paragraph or two. I then pasted together the whole book, as in a collage." He completed it in 1948, but not published until 1990 when

Dalkey Archive Press Dalkey Archive Press is an American publisher of fiction, poetry, foreign translations and literary criticism specializing in the publication or republication of lesser-known, often avant-garde works. The company has offices in Funks Grove, Il ...

released the first edition.

Reception and legacy

The novel was nominated for a

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

in 1990. ''Chromos'' had an influence on the works of fellow Spanish-American writer Eduardo Lago, whose ''Llámame Brooklyn'' shares stylistic, structural, and thematic similarities with Alfau's novel, such as a novel-within-a-novel.

References

Works cited

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Composition and publication

Reception and legacy

References

Works cited

Further reading