López, an infantry soldier in the Black Army, escapes a firing squad and, in his flight, puts on the uniform of a dead soldier from the opposing Orange Army. The name on the stitched patch reads: López.

Taking on this new identity alters not only how others see him, but how he sees the war and himself. As he moves through the forest and joins a group of Orange Army soldiers, he begins a journey that, born of deception and the instinct to survive, slowly transforms him into an accidental hero.

López López is the first novel by acclaimed short story writer Tomás Downey. It’s a powerful reflection on time and memory, told with formal elegance and imaginative force. The story unfolds in a mirrored, circular fashion, with one narrative opening into many, and reveals how human connections shape and reshape themselves in moments of crisis.

A striking debut that confirms Downey as a subtle, intelligent, and singular voice in contemporary Argentine literature.

 

“López López is a brilliant novel that you read with intensity, because just when it seems to be about war, it’s about love—and when it seems to be about love, it’s about doubles—and when it seems to be about doubles, the idea slips away once again. The novel escapes, just like its protagonist, but while the protagonist ends up crashing into what he was trying to escape, the novel, on the other hand, dodges everything with grace.” – Pablo Katchadjian

“Tomás Downey is one of my favorite contemporaries. I never know what he’ll come up with from one book to the next, or even from one story to another. Reading this, his first novel, was once again a pleasant surprise, because it’s unlike anything being written today. It doesn’t rely on any certainty—it heads straight into the unknown, head held high. In López’s story, there is epicness, adventure, irony, and poetry: the ingredients of a great book.” – Luciano Lamberti

“Downey isn’t a short story writer trying to write a novel; he’s a storyteller showing us how a great novel can also be a short story.” – Munir Hachemi

“López López is a novel destined to become a classic, reaffirming that Downey is one of the best Argentine writers of his generation.” – Mariana Komiseroff

 

184 pages – Original Edition: Spanish (Fiordo, Argentina, 2025)