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R.M. Koster

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R(ichard) M(orton) Koster is an American novelist best known for the Tinieblas trilogy—The Prince (1972), The Dissertation (1975), Mandragon (1979)—set in an imaginary Central American republic much like Panama, the author's home for many years. He is the author, besides, of two other novels, Carmichael's Dog (1992) and Glass Mountain (2001), and (with Panamanian man of letters Guillermo Sánchez Borbón), of In the Time of the Tyrants (1990), a history of the Torrijos-Noriega dictatorship. Koster's approach in the trilogy is post-modern magical realism, reminiscent of García Márquez in its sometimes fantastical content. In The Prince, for example, conflict over an American military base near the capital of Tinieblas causes a "flag plague" in R(ichard) M(orton) Koster is an American novelist best known for the Tinieblas trilogy—The Prince (1972), The Dissertation (1975), Mandragon (1979)—set in an imaginary Central American republic much like Panama, the author's home for many years. He is the author, besides, of two other novels, Carmichael's Dog (1992) and Glass Mountain (2001), and (with Panamanian man of letters Guillermo Sánchez Borbón), of In the Time of the Tyrants (1990), a history of the Torrijos-Noriega dictatorship. Koster's approach in the trilogy is post-modern magical realism, reminiscent of García Márquez in its sometimes fantastical content. In The Prince, for example, conflict over an American military base near the capital of Tinieblas causes a "flag plague" in which activists break out in stinging rashes of their national colors. As García Márquez's translator, Gregory Rabassa, has remarked, however, "Koster’s magical realism was direct, not an imitation of anyone. He was there in Panama so he just fell naturally into it." In its verbal and structural inventiveness Koster's approach is sometimes likened to that of Nabokov. The Dissertation presents itself as a doctoral thesis with contrapuntal stories in the text and notes. Each novel focuses on a larger-than-life protagonist around whom the action revolves, as in a concerto for solo instrument and orchestra. The author himself likens the books to the panels of a triptych, "since each of the three is complete in itself and since they need not be considered in the order of their publication." Major characters from one book appear as minor characters in the others, and vice versa. The unifying "character" of all three is Tinieblas itself. The Tinieblas trilogy may be seen as an imaginative response to the unrest that convulsed Central America during the 1970s and '80s, and as an extended reference to the work of Niccolò Machiavelli. Each protagonist is a political leader, in The Prince an adventurer on the model of Cesare Borgia, in Mandragon a charismatic like Savonarola. For the protagonist of The Dissertation pursuit of powern is a disease, yet he accepts leadership when it is thrust upon him. Throughout the trilogy the wages of power is death, and there are many incidents of grim violence and grotesque humor, often combined.The tiology received considerable acclaim, including a National Book Award nomination for The Prince. Overlook Press is currently reissuing it. The Prince reappeared in March 2013. The Dissertation will be published in October, 2013, and Mandragon early in 2014. Koster was born in Brooklyn in 1934 and has degrees from Yale and New York Universities. He went to Panama as a soldier in the 1950s and has lived there since. He taught
English at the National University of Panama, and from 1964 to 2001 was a member of the faculty of the Florida State University, serving at its Panama branch. He has lectured in English and Spanish at more than 20 universities in the United States and Latin America. In 2003 he was a visiting professor at Southern Methodist University. Koster has had parallel careers in politics and journalism. He was a member of the Democratic National Committee 1967-1996, served on many Democratic panels, and wrote presidential debate copy for Senator John Kerry in 2004. He has reported for the Copely News Service, Newsweek and the New York Times. Essays by him have appeared in Harper's, Playboy, and other magazines. Koster's work is deeply grounded in the western literary canon, though references tend to be playful not pedantic. In Carmichael's Dog (1992), which takes place in a parallel universe, characters quote the playwright Robin Speckshaft, creator of Malaspina, 'the gloomy duke' who had his dwarf strangled for making him smile. Koster's wife, Otilia Tejeira trained as a ballerina and later had a career as a human rights monitor. They have two children and three grand children. ...more

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Average rating: 3.91 · 140 ratings · 34 reviews · 6 distinct works

	The Dissertation (Tinieblas Trilogy # 2) 4.27 avg rating — 41 ratings — published 1975 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Prince (Tinieblas Trilogy #1) 3.93 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 1972 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Carmichael's Dog 3.83 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 1992 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Time of Tyrants: Panama : 1968-1990 by R.M. Koster (Goodreads Author), Guillermo Sanchez 3.57 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 1990 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Glass Mountain 3.71 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2001 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mandragon (Tinieblas Trilogy #3) 3.64 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 1979 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by R.M. Koster

Tinieblas Trilogy (3 books)
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On the Calculation of Volume, Book I

by Solvej Balle

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Leo Tolstoy: The Complete Works

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Stories

by Isaac Babel

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Jun 21, 2025 01:23AM

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