José Donoso Signed Firsts: A Reference

José Donoso (1924–1996) is the Chilean novelist whose The Obscene Bird of Night is one of the great Boom-era novels — a nightmarish, Gothic narrative that has been compared to Kafka and Faulkner. Donoso’s reputation rests primarily on this single masterwork, though his memoir The Boom in Spanish American Literature provides an invaluable insider account of the movement.

Key Title

• The Obscene Bird of Night (El obsceno pájaro de la noche, 1970 / English 1973)

Signed Copy Market Values

• Signed English first: $100–$250
• Unsigned English first: $20–$50

Donoso is the Boom’s “dark horse” — his masterwork is as powerful as anything by García Márquez or Vargas Llosa, but his smaller body of work has kept him less widely collected.