A tragic twist of fate leaves a revered artist destitute in Texas in this novel.
Seventy-year-old Cosimo Infante Cano was born in Cuba but forged a reputation as a modernist painter living and working in Paris. In 1961, he finds himself experiencing the same “nightmarish anxiety” he felt while fighting in the Great War as he wanders the streets of San Antonio with very little money. His plan was to make a passage from Europe to America to join his lover, Sara Hunter, whom he met in Paris and has known for 14 years. Yet, after his arrival in the United States, he discovers that his suitcases containing his “street clothes and address book” have been stolen. On reaching San Antonio, he then learns that Sara has been killed in a car accident. The wealthy Hunter family chooses to distance itself from him, making his situation even more precarious, as he had entrusted $45,000 to Sara to keep until his arrival along with two trunks packed with his clothes, tools, and brushes. Cosimo barely has the money to find himself a clean bed for the night, let alone…
Award-winning filmmaker, playwright, and writer, Severo Perez grew up in Westside San Antonio and graduated from the University of Texas, Austin. For over forty years, he produced films for PBS, network and cable television, corporate sponsors, and the educational market. His feature film adaptation of the novel …and the earth did not swallow him (1994) by Tomas Rivera won eleven international awards, including one for Best Director and five for Best Picture. His first novel, Willa Brown & the Challengers, is historical fiction based on the real-life African American aviation pioneer, Willa Beatrice Brown. Odd Birds is his second novel. His third book, Filmmaker's Journey, was published in 2024.