At noon on October 4, 1599, two unusual opponents meet on a public tennis court in Piazza Navona, Rome. One is a renowned artist from Lombardy, whose work will forever change contemporary perceptions of painting. The other is a young poet, who will later become one of the pillars of the Spanish Golden Age of literature.

This adventure novel introduces familiar figures (Galileo, Caravaggio, Quevedo, Cortés, and many others) in ways we have never seen before. It challenges everything we know about European colonialism, history, art, and modernity.

The book has been awarded the prestigious Herralde Prize in Spain (2013), the Elena Poniatowska International Prize in Mexico, and the Barcelona Prize. It has been translated into several languages.

Álvaro Enrigue (b. 1969) is a writer, literary critic, and publisher. He has taught at New York University, Princeton University, Columbia University, and the University of Maryland. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, he currently resides in New York City.