The work of Antonio di Benedetto circulated for years like a secret, like a whisper that grew stronger over the decades. Today, he is considered one of the leading prose writers of Latin America. This book was first published in 1956 and is regarded as one of the timeless masterpieces of Spanish-speaking and global literature.

With a captivating style that becomes shocking, the Argentine author narrates a critical phase in the life of Don Diego de Sama, an official of the Spanish crown in 18th-century Paraguay. The hero is the victim of an endless wait; waiting for a ship, for recognition, and for a transfer to Buenos Aires, to reunite with his wife Marta. As he feels exiled in an inhospitable place, his anticipation becomes agonizing, reflective, and existential.

This very place tries to seduce him and during the lethargic hours, it besieges him with thoughts of infidelity, forcing him to struggle within his loneliness with the right to fall in love. Sama is an unforgettable novel about the ultimate boundaries of the human condition.

“Di Benedetto has written books full of substance that have moved me and continue to move me.” Jorge Luis Borges

“Di Benedetto is a rare example of a novelist. In Sama he does not resort to reconstructing the past but is situated in that past. In this way, he brings us close to images of life and behaviors that retain their absurdity intact without needing to summon our imagination.” Julio Cortázar

“Sama can be compared to Camus' The Stranger and Sartre's Nausea, but I believe that, considering the circumstances under which it was written and the unique position of the person who wrote it, Sama is superior to those works in many ways. Di Benedetto's style is undoubtedly the most authentic in 20th-century Argentine literature and Sama one of the high points of Spanish-language prose.” Juan José Saer

“Antonio di Benedetto. A great writer we must know. Sama remains his most captivating book, if for no other reason than the unbridled energy of the protagonist himself.” J. M. Coetzee

“Sama is an exceptional novel for many reasons; for its original form and its invention of a literary language; for the introduction of existentialism into Latin American literature and for the way it deconstructs the historical novel.” La Nación