OSCAR

A novel written in the style of magic realism of Garcia Marquez as with background jazz music and the life of the musician Oscar Peterson.

When still a child, the young Oscar P. notices a strange phenomenon: each time that Brad, his big brother, starts playing the piano, the rain stops, the summer comes back, and the sun refuses to set. It's the music that has these magical powers. These powers, however, will not protect Brad from the white plague, which will soon claim his life.
The disease attacks young Oscar as well, but he survives. During his convalescence, he's eager to take Brad's place at the piano. Within a short span, the whole neighbourhood gathers on his doorstep to listen to him playing.
Oscar could have spent the rest of his life in the dreariness of his hometown, but the shadow of Norman G., the celebrated New York impresario, surges behind him to make his music resound through the world.
Inspired by the legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, Mauricio Segura gives us here a novel imbued with magical realism, evoking the atmosphere in the cabarets of the 1950s. The novel offers a fascinating reflection on the bonds between an artist and the community he comes from, celebrity, and the
commercialization of art. But above all, it's a poignant homage to a music giant.

Mauricio Segura was born in Temuco, Chile, in 1969. He lived in Argentina before moving to Montreal where he studied economics and literature. He has written three novels: Côte-des-nègres, Bouche-àbouche,
and Eucalyptus.