Meksikos trilogija

by Yuri Herrera, Eglė Naujokaitytė (translator)

"Karalystės darbeliuose" iš Vilkio, koridų rengėjo ir dalyvio, įsimylėjusio narkobarono įdukrą, perspektyvos pasakojama apie slaptą Meksikos narkotikų mafijos gyvenimą: rūmus ir pagalbos prašytojus, suktus darbelius ir neišvengiamas mirtis. "Ženklai, pranašaujantys pasaulio pabaigą" – istorija apie Makiną, jauną merginą, išmokusią išgyventi mačistiniame pasaulyje, kuri, nešina mamos perduotu rašteliu ir paketėliu, gautu iš vietinio šulo, ryžtasi perplaukti upę, kirsti sieną ir milžiniškoje šalyje susirasti pradingusį brolį. O "Kūnų transmigracijos" centre – Atpirkėjas, kuris neaiškios epidemijos apgaubtame mieste išdrįsta iškišti nosį į lauką, bandydamas sutaikyti dvi svarbias šeimas ir išsiaiškinti mįslingas dviejų kūnų atsiradimo aplinkybes.

Šios trys apysakos, sudarančios "Meksikos trilogiją", pelnytai atsidūrė tarp svarbiausių šiuolaikinės Meksikos literatūros kūrinių ir iškėlė Yurį Herrerą į labiausiai vertinamų šalies rašytojų gretas. Tai mitologinį pagrindą turintys pasakojimai, naratyviškai primenantys renesansines tragedijas, tačiau, nors veiksmas vyksta neįvardytose vietose, juose neabejotinai nagrinėjami šiuolaikinės Meksikos skauduliai. Lyg pabėgę iš mito, epo ar pasakos, Herreros protagonistai sudėtingame ir žlungančiame pasaulyje siekia tvarkos ir etikos, savo kelionėse patirdami prabangą ir galią, meilę ir mirtį, amžinybės momentus ir visagalį laikinumą.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Contemporary, Latin American

256 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

Born in Actopan, Mexico, in 1970, Yuri Herrera studied Politics in Mexico, Creative Writing in El Paso and took his PhD in literature at Berkeley. His first novel to appear in English, Signs Preceding the End of the World, was published to great critical acclaim in 2015 and included in many Best-of-Year lists, including The Guardian‘s Best Fiction and NBC News’s Ten Great Latino Books, going on to win the 2016 Best Translated Book Award. He is currently teaching at the Tulane University, in New Orleans.

Reviews

[Miglė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trys istorijos – archetipiniai siužetai, perkelti į nusikalstamą Meksikos pasaulį. Artistas karaliaus dvare, mergina vyksta į kelionę ieškoti dingusio brolio, Romeo ir Džuljeta. Personažų vardai / pravardės kaip pasakų veikėjų, bet yra daug šiukščios kasdienybės, kalba labai graži, knyga taip slydo slydo ir praslydo, ypatingai manęs nepalietusi, bet ir nenuvylusi.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kingdom Cons ➵ 4 stars
Signs Preceding the End of the World ➵ 5 stars
The Transmigration of Bodies ➵ 2 stars

[Jolanta (knygupė) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Skaistė · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 ✨ (3 dalis nelipo, neįtikino, erzino)

[James Horn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent little collection of novellas, that really captures the Latinx experience. These are modern stories told with a timeless bend. All three stories are worth your time, but Signs Preceding the End of the World is the clear centerpiece (also the 2nd of the 3 stories). I read this out of order because I had read many times that SPtEotW was the best. I am glad I read it that way, as I felt it finished strongly that way. I am tempted to give this 5 stars based simply on how great that novella was, but the other two, while excellent, are slightly underbaked. 4.5 stars perhaps. Either way, read this.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful collection of stories written in such poetic prose that it is impossible to avoid being caught up in the lyrical flow of every sentence.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Kas sugalvojo nulį - tikri genijai, pamanė jis, Ne tik įvardijo, bet ir paskyrė nuliui vietą skaičių eilėje, tarsi jam būtų nulemta joje palusniai gyvuoti."

[bennyandthejets · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entered a bookstore with no strong intentions of buying anything and was suckered into picking this up. I had collected the 3 novellas contained within over the course of a few years only to see them lost, borrowed, or returned with a strange patina of black mold on account of being left outside. Having them all collected with a new introduction and translator's notes was something of a must, if only to preserve some lost version of myself, the version who read these somewhat ecstatically and pressed them into the hands of people who don't normally read, but who could be suckered into picking up a 100 page novel of inventive, symbolic language and characters with names like The Artist and The Redeemer. I reread The Transmigration of Bodies last night and was again blown away by the compression, the linguistic fireworks, and the unsettling resonance with today's pandemic times. Also the translator who noted that The Redeemer is her version of Herrera's El Alfaqueque. Will be revisiting the other two but this is just a reminder to give these a try if you haven't.

[Chandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read two of the stories in this book as individual books before I got to this one, so the only one I read in this particular collection was “Signs Preceding the End of the World”. I’m actually glad it turned out this way and I read this one last, because it wrecked me. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, a real page turner, and did not see that coming. The entire anxious journey met with a sigh of relief coupled with shock, hope, and compounded realizations. Love it. No spoilers. Read it.

[Akvilė (kas skaito, kas rašo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nuostabus Yuri Herrera darbas. Prieš tai leistos kaip trys atskiros knygos, dabar šios istorijos sutalpintos į vieną leidimą. Mano manymu puiki idėja, nes atskirai man lyg ir ko trūktų, o kartu, tarsi papildo viena kitą.

Pirmoji istorija, apipavidalinta kaip pasaka apie karalių ir jo muzikantą. Iš tiesų, puikiai atskleidžiamas nusikalstamas Meksikos veidas. Gaujos, grupuotės, nepasitikėjimas, neaiškios žūtys. Man tai, taip pat, ir apie grožį ten, kur taip sunku jį pamatyti. Autorius taip lengvai rašo, taip švelniai, metaforiškai parenka žodžius. Pats autorius viename interviu pasakoja,kad pirmiausia, jis sugalvoja ne mintį, ar knygos idėją. Pirma, jis susirašo žodžius, kurie jam patinka. Gali kelias savaites dėliotis žodžius. Išbraukti, įrašyti naujus. Kai jau turi pakankamai, bando pažiūrėti į žodžių visumą ir tada kuriasi istorija.

Antroji istorija man patiko labiausiai. Nelegalus sienos kirtimas, kelionė į svajonių šalį. Rašydamas šią knygą, autorius pats gyveno netoli sienos ir gana aiškiai matė įsišaknijusią pabėgelių problemą. Viskas vėlgi pateikta gana lengvai, su juoko poskoniu, kasdieniškai. Vietomis, netgi apsurdiškai. Tačiau, skaitant tarp eilučių, čia galima tiek daug gauti! Daug vietos apmąstymams. Man dar puikiai susigrojo su dabar skaitomu Amerikos purvu.

Trečioji istorija, šiek tiek nublanko prieš kitas dvi, bet buvo reikalinga. Pandemija. Žmonės yra raginami nepalikti namų, tačiau reali grėsmė ir kas ją sukelia, nėra įvardinta. Įdomumas tame, kad istorija parašyta dar prieš tikrąją pandemiją. Atsitiktinumas? Pandemijos akivaizdoje pagrindiniam veikėjui - Advokatui, reikia susikeisti negyvais kūnais, bei išsiaiškinti kas iš tikrųjų nutiko. Pabaigoje paslaptis subtiliai atskleidžiama, bet aš vistiek nepagavau. Kas skaitėt ir supratot, gal parašysit asmeniškai? 😀

All in all, patiko. Yra dar viena knygą išleista šio autoriaus. Šį sykį, ne grožinė. Skamba įdomiai, skaitysim.

[Cary Brecher · Rating 4 out of 5]

forgot to do it for SPEW, but i would give it a 3/5, definitely a strong work stylistically but didn’t have enough going on outside of that, for ToB 4/5, the redeemer is one of the most intriguing characters ive encountered in fiction

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seductive similes in
various surrealities.
SO GOOD

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

“One came to perch on her eyelashes; it looked like a stack of crosses or the map of a palace, a solid and intricate marvel at any rate, and when it dissolved a few seconds later she wondered how it was that some things in the world—some countries, some people—could seem eternal when everything was actually like that miniature ice palace: one-of-a-kind, precious, fragile.” -p.120 (Signs Preceding the End of the World)

“Using in one tongue the word for a thing in the other makes the attributes of both resound: if you say Give me fire when they say Give me a light, what is not to be learned about fire, light and the act of giving? It’s not another way of saying things: these are new things. The world happening anew, Makina realizes: promising other things, signifying other things, producing different objects. Who knows if they‘ll last, who knows if these names will be adopted by all, she thinks, but there they are, doing their damnedest.” -p.128 (Signs Preceding the End of the World)

“On other occasions he’d convinced himself that even the most twisted men deserve a chance, since people, all people, are like dark stars: what we see is different from the thing itself, which has already disappeared, already changed, even a single second after the light or evil has been discharged.” -p.194 (The Transmigration of Bodies)

“Perhaps because life was short, people had learned not to stick their noses into the affairs of others: existence was already a bitch without worrying about them as well. Perhaps that was also why they were all so fixated on form, on nicedaying and areyouwelling and thankgodding and tookinding. Mechanisms to mark distance.” -p.225 (The Transmigration of Bodies)

“It takes a serious scare for some gestures to take hold but then they end up like scars that seem to have been there all along. Maybe they themselves would one day be nothing but someone’s scar, nameless, no epitaph, just a line on the skin.” -p.248 (The Transmigration of Bodies)

——————

Kingdom Con 8.5/10
Signs Preceding the End of the World 10/10
The Transmigration of Bodies 10/10

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed all three of these books separately, but I wanted to review here as well to summarize my thoughts on Yuri Herrera. Lisa Dillman has done a remarkable job translating each of these works. While all of these center around crime in Mexico, Herrera’s books are all surprisingly different from one another. Despite the differences, Dillman has done a wonderful job both maintaining a similar authorial voice in translation. If you’re going to read Herrera, don’t pick and choose, just grab this one. They’re not all my book of the year, but they’re all good and enjoyable, and I had a great time tracing the relationships each novel had and watching his writing progress.

Signs Preceding the End of the World is, in my mind, unquestionably his best and also the outlier. I’m not sure if Herrera is good at writing women, but in this book his narrator stands out even if she is, to the point of another reader, somewhat androgynous. I think this decision allows the largest leap away from the underworld he depicts in earlier writing and by extension produces the most to talk about.

All of Herrera’s writing is highly stylized in a compelling way, but sometimes style comes before substance. This can be good or bad, depending on whether you’re looking for entertainment or literature.

[Britta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I simply loved this book.
The novels are captivating and easy to lose yourself in. The part I enjoyed the most, however, surprised me (I actually almost skipped past it!). It was the translator’s note at the end on why she chose to translate portions the way she did and the time it took her to do so. Her explanation of Hererra’s patterns of language and choice of words added so much depth to stories that I had already really enjoyed. Being allowed some additional insight into how the author manipulates their use of language really added a ton for me to chew on and take away. I went from liking the stories to loving them.
Big big fan. Highly recommend.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever use of language and character names. Each short story is unique and provides a glimpse into the intimate lives of Mexicans. Kingdom Cons and Signs Preceding the End of the World were my favorites of the three.

[Bella Weetch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure I really got this. Really wanted to love it but for some reason I just didn’t.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was beautiful. I appreciated the notes from the translator that helped me appreciate the little details even more. Had to really focus to stay in the stories and not miss anything.

[Jennie Chantal]

DNF 62%
I just can’t get through the last story in this book. The sexism is too grating.

[Henry Roden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very quickly adding yuri to the list of authors i want to read more of

[Peachyz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the prose. Very quotable, thoughtful, and profound.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kingdom Cons - 3 stars;
Signs Preceding the End of the World - 5 stars;
The Transmigration of Bodies - 4 stars

[Justė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Po ilgo laiko paraštės vėl prirašytos dalykų.

[Kamilė · Rating 4 out of 5]

kūnų transmigracija: 5/5; karalystės darbeliai: 4/5; ženklai, pranašaujantys pasaulio pabaigą 3.5/5

[Vita Mikuličiūtė · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gera knyga. Atmosferinė, abstrakti, panaši į Lyncho filmus. Kita vertus, būtent dėl šių savo ypatumų skaitėsi sunkiai. Tarsi užsižaista pavieniais vaizdiniais ar žodžiais.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked book 2, but wasn’t a huge fan of 1 or 3. Beautiful writing but didn’t feel like the stories were overly interesting

[Audra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 žvaigždutės. Viena už kitą geresnės apysakos. Be to,radau man nežinomą gerą vertėją. Vieną sykį perskaityt labai verta.

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The other two stories were good, but “Signs Preceding the End of the World” was 5 stars absolutely fantastic incredible

[Rimvydas Ragauskas · Rating 3 out of 5]

All three short stories explore fascinating topics, but their execution feels somewhat superficial, and the endings come across as naive.

[Mark Haunschild · Rating 5 out of 5]

These first three Dillman translations of Herrera are all pretty good. Published and read together, they’re excellent.