Kingdom Cons

Blood was one thing he knew, and he could see that his was different. Could see it in the way the man filled all the space without any sense of urgency and with an all-knowing air...Then he saw the jewels that graced him and he knew: he was a King. On the streets of a sprawling Mexican city, the Artist plays his accordion and sings: born into begging, he earns a living by the sweetness of his voice. Performing for a drug baron and his bodyguard one evening, the Artist recognises the power of his audience, and sees a way out. Swearing fealty at the 'court' of the King, he is allowed to live on the drug lord's compound, in exchange for composing flattering chronicles of the characters and lives inside. But the reign of such a King is often short, and the Artist is forced to witness not only the dizzy successes, but the inevitable crash of this fragile world. Told in a heady mixture of baroque imagery and contemporary street slang, "Kingdom Cons" is a wild and highly original take on the very real situation in Mexico today.


Genre: Literary Fiction