Trained as an architect, he also studied Comparative Literature. He has lived in Manchester and in the Colombian rainforest, and is currently based in Barcelona.He has published a short story collection called
Trece circos comunes (Norma, 2000) and a book of imprecise classification entitled
De ciertos animales tristes (Norma, 2000), as well as
Zanahorias voladoras (Alfaguara, 2004) and
Las orejas del lobo (2006). In 2010 he won the Herralde Prize with the novel
Tres ataúdes blancos.