“The evocative imagery and ideas revealed in The Witness are not easily forgotten.”—Washington Times “Haunting and beautifully written.”—Independent on Sunday In sixteenth-century Spain, a cabin boy sets sail on a ship bound for the New World. An inland expedition ends in disaster when the group is attacked by Indians. The Witness explores the relationship between existence and description, foreignness and cultural identity. Juan José Saer was born in Argentina in 1937 and is considered one of Argentina's leading writers of the post-Borges generation. He died in 2005.