Mexican Novelist David Toscana Wins Alfaguara Prize with Historical Novel 'El ejército ciego'

Mexican author David Toscana has received the 2026 Alfaguara Prize for his novel 'El ejército ciego'. The work is a historical fiction piece inspired by a Byzantine account from the 11th century by Ioannis Skylitzes, which describes Emperor Basil I of Byzantium ordering the blinding of 15,000 Bulgarian prisoners in the 9th century after a battle victory. Toscana explains that the emperor chose this brutal punishment over execution or enslavement because 15,000 blind men would be a heavier burden than 15,000 dead. The novel imagines the lives of these blinded soldiers returning home, featuring vignettes of individuals like bakers, carpenters, and scribes, with a tone that is playful and imaginative rather than realistic or pitiful. Toscana notes that while historians debate the exact number, blinding was a known punishment in the region, used even among Bulgarians, such as a ruler blinding his son for reverting to paganism. He aimed to give dignity to each character, avoiding lamentation, and the book has been well-received by Bulgarian readers who see it as a metaphor for the weak against the strong, reflecting their own struggles. The narrative also touches on broader literary themes of blindness, referencing works from Seneca to modern authors, and concludes with the blind soldiers reuniting as a ghostly army. The novel was published in 2026, with Toscana discussing its origins and themes in an interview from Madrid.