Colombia
172
Rosero, Evelio José (text)
Castellanos, Diana (illus.)
Cuchilla
(Knife <proper name>)
Bogotá ; Barcelona [et al.] : Grupo Ed. Norma, 2000. – 154pp
(Colección torre de papel : Torre azul)
ISBN 958-04-5643-7
Teacher - Hatred - Prejudice
The first-person-narrator and his brother are not too thrilled when their notorious
history teacher, nicknamed »Cuchilla« (»The Knife«) by the schoolchildren, moves into
the house next-door. They secretely observe him and have to come to the somber conclusion
that he leads a perfectly normal life: he sometimes comes home drunk, he has friends,
makes music and so on. Slowly, the human qualities of the despised teacher become
apparent. The story is told with humour and convinces with its concise language. With
economic means, the author succeeds in developing memorable characters. (10+)
(Premio Norma-Fundalectura; 2000)