The story begins in 1970s Mexico City through the diary of Juan García Madero, a law student drawn into a circle of radical poets known as the visceral realists. Led by Arturo Belano and Ulises Lima, the group searches for Cesárea Tinajero, a forgotten writer from the 1920s. After a violent confrontation facilitates their escape from the capital, the narrative shifts into an oral history spanning twenty years. Dozens of peripheral characters offer testimonials across several continents, tracking the subsequent exile, poverty, and fragmentation of the two leaders as they drift toward an uncertain conclusion in the Sonoran Desert.
Readers interested in the intersection of Latin American politics and avant-garde literature find a granular look at how youth movements dissolve over time. Those who enjoy non-linear structures receive a complex puzzle where central figures only appear through the observations of others. The book provides a realistic depiction of the disconnect between poetic idealism and the physical toll of living on the margins of society. It leaves the reader with a visceral sense of how geography and memory erode personal history.
Deep, open-ended and thought-provoking; a demanding read.
Best for readers like The Literary Connoisseur. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1998
- Language
- EN
