Summary

In Chapter 1, “One Single Long Shadow,” opens in 2009. Antonio Yammara is living in Bogotá when he learns that a hippo has escaped from Hacienda Nápoles, Pablo Escobar’s former zoo. The hippo was killed by the cops (3). The news reminds him of Ricardo Laverde, a man he obsessed over for years. He starts thinking about Ricardo more and more in the days following. Every news report reminds him of Ricardo and the day he died (5). Eventually, Antonio realizes that the hippo’s death has ended an era of his life that started “quite a while ago” (5). He is unsure if there is any use in remembering this story now, but he feels desperate to recall the events surrounding Ricardo’s life and his relationship with him.

Ricardo died in 1996. Before his death, he wandered around his La Candelaria neighborhood, eventually arriving at the...