What do you think?
Rate this book
Antipodes
From the author of the award-winning novel Shadow Without a Name , comes Antipodes , the first collection of his short fiction to be translated into English. This lively, eclectic, and highly imaginative volume spans time, place, and culture as the narratives move from the scorching heat of the Gobi desert to the glacial heights of Mount Everest.
Here, among others, are the stories of a great Scottish engineer, left to die in the middle of the desert, who is rescued by a tribe of nomads and inspires them to build an exact replica of the city of Edinburgh in the dunes; of a dying, cross-dressing pilot who allegedly climbs Mount Everest and then mysteriously disappears; of an English colonel who swears on his life to make the trains in Zambezi run on time, only to be forced to honor his word when they are always ten minutes late; of a monk who conjures the devil to prove the devil's existence; and of a young administrator of a psychiatric hospital who is appalled by the treatment of the patients, and devises his own bizarre solution.
Based on history, legend and an awe-inspiring power of invention, Antipodes delights, terrifies, and entrances.
Here, among others, are the stories of a great Scottish engineer, left to die in the middle of the desert, who is rescued by a tribe of nomads and inspires them to build an exact replica of the city of Edinburgh in the dunes; of a dying, cross-dressing pilot who allegedly climbs Mount Everest and then mysteriously disappears; of an English colonel who swears on his life to make the trains in Zambezi run on time, only to be forced to honor his word when they are always ten minutes late; of a monk who conjures the devil to prove the devil's existence; and of a young administrator of a psychiatric hospital who is appalled by the treatment of the patients, and devises his own bizarre solution.
Based on history, legend and an awe-inspiring power of invention, Antipodes delights, terrifies, and entrances.
145 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2001
2 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Ignacio Padilla
78 books52 followersMember of the 'crack movement', redefining Latin American literature outside the confines of magical realism.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 23, 2012
If you have ever attended a writing workshop or bought a teach-yourself-to-write guide, you will have come across the time-honoured advice that you should show rather than tell. But what these workshops and writing manuals rarely reveal is that telling can be just as effective (if not more valuable) when your story has to cross vast stretches of time, or recount events on a grand scale.
Padilla’s “Antipodes” is a book that tells as much as it shows. Events race along at an astonishing speed with little regard for the typical scene-sequel approach of a lot of modern literature. Often, Padilla simply tells the reader about a conversation between characters rather than show the dialogue. Nevertheless, the stories entertain with their wealth of concrete details; and dazzle us with their powerful narrative drive. Combining history with legend and invention, these stories are wonderful flights of the imagination about reckless explorers, bizarre mysteries and absurd missions.
Ignacio Padilla was born in Mexico in 1968 and has, for many years, been at the vanguard of a literary movement that has produced some of the most intellectually stimulating narratives of recent decades. If you prefer longer forms of fiction, then I strongly recommend Padilla’s thriller, “Shadow without a Name”, which won Spain's prestigious Primavera Prize. But if you prefer short fiction, then it is only fair to warn you that the twelve stories that comprise this collection are not short stories in the contemporary sense of the term. Instead they belong to the Latin American genre known as the chronicle (Spanish: crónica). So don’t expect well-rounded characters and fancy dialogue; but do expect to be entertained in that ancient manner which dates back to Herodotus.
I have given this book four stars only because it is such a small book (my copy is a mere 132 pages). When I first read Padilla’s book to the end I felt starved for more. Indeed, I read this book three times in a row without respite. So starved was I for more of Padilla’s scintillating prose.
Padilla’s “Antipodes” is a book that tells as much as it shows. Events race along at an astonishing speed with little regard for the typical scene-sequel approach of a lot of modern literature. Often, Padilla simply tells the reader about a conversation between characters rather than show the dialogue. Nevertheless, the stories entertain with their wealth of concrete details; and dazzle us with their powerful narrative drive. Combining history with legend and invention, these stories are wonderful flights of the imagination about reckless explorers, bizarre mysteries and absurd missions.
Ignacio Padilla was born in Mexico in 1968 and has, for many years, been at the vanguard of a literary movement that has produced some of the most intellectually stimulating narratives of recent decades. If you prefer longer forms of fiction, then I strongly recommend Padilla’s thriller, “Shadow without a Name”, which won Spain's prestigious Primavera Prize. But if you prefer short fiction, then it is only fair to warn you that the twelve stories that comprise this collection are not short stories in the contemporary sense of the term. Instead they belong to the Latin American genre known as the chronicle (Spanish: crónica). So don’t expect well-rounded characters and fancy dialogue; but do expect to be entertained in that ancient manner which dates back to Herodotus.
I have given this book four stars only because it is such a small book (my copy is a mere 132 pages). When I first read Padilla’s book to the end I felt starved for more. Indeed, I read this book three times in a row without respite. So starved was I for more of Padilla’s scintillating prose.
June 25, 2022
There are vague themes of colonialism and surrealism and from what I can see there appears to be some elements of magical realism too (a genre I despise). There are clear shades of Calvino, Borges and even Conrad, but what comes across strongest of all is the deafening mediocrity.
This is a collection of small pointless, bland stories which had little to nothing to offer?...I sincerely believe if this had been the work of an anglophonic author then the reviews would be nowhere near as gushing and OTT in their praise.
March 18, 2023
This book is mind blowing. I get the same sense in reading this as I do reading Edgar Alan Poe. But Ignacio Padilla is way more accessible. This work is a translation...I'm actually learning Spanish just so I could read the original text.
July 16, 2011
Although I enjoyed a couple of the short stories in this collection, on the whole, I found most of it a bit "smart" for me. Half the time I was wondering who and what I was reading about. Well written, but not easy to follow.
July 25, 2023
Reminiscent of the best bits of Borges.
October 21, 2016
Wonderfully imaginative stories; traces of Calvino and British colonialism surprisingly from a Mexican author writing in Spanish?
May 28, 2009
ignacio padilla, mexican novelist, short story writer, and diplomat, has won a number of literary awards, yet only two of his works have been translated into english (the other being the novel shadow without a name). antipodes, a slim collection of a dozen short stories, is an illusive work that, on the surface, seems considerably simpler than it actually is. the stories are wonderfully diverse and have been set around the world in different countries and in differing eras. padilla's prose is well-concocted, and the scope of his imagination is seemingly limitless. these stories are of the sort that may appreciate over time and are, perhaps, most revealing upon revisiting.
"frequently, brother jean degard would wake at sunset out of a long dream, and the fading light of the libyan desert would enter him till he felt that some heavenly spirit, pitying his crime and his sufferings, was enveloping him in a lost and wavering clarity of mind. at the fall of night, however, objects took back their proper proportions in the gloom of the cave, reminding the hermit that he had not turned his back on his century to reach divine light but to confront the darkness at its most dire..."
~from hagiography of the apostate
"frequently, brother jean degard would wake at sunset out of a long dream, and the fading light of the libyan desert would enter him till he felt that some heavenly spirit, pitying his crime and his sufferings, was enveloping him in a lost and wavering clarity of mind. at the fall of night, however, objects took back their proper proportions in the gloom of the cave, reminding the hermit that he had not turned his back on his century to reach divine light but to confront the darkness at its most dire..."
~from hagiography of the apostate
March 12, 2017
Amazing collection of short stories which the author calls chronicles. Some stories have flavour of magical realism but it's told in such un-fluffy way that it makes the whole book just brilliant. New author discovered, faith in short stories restored.
December 10, 2008
Can't let it go....keep going back to these short stories by this Mexican author that take you all over the world and then on.
April 29, 2011
The best:
Rhodesia Express
Amends in Halak-Proot
The Chinaman with the Hrads
Rhodesia Express
Amends in Halak-Proot
The Chinaman with the Hrads
December 24, 2014
Great intro to the crack movement. Think Cortazar/Calvino with post-colonial irony.
September 11, 2021
Retroactive Review (11 Sep 2021): Nice weird fantastic stories.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews