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Trucha panza arriba
Rodrigo Fuentes ha decidido volver allí donde los caminos dejan de ser de asfalto para convertirse de tierra. ¿Y qué encuentra el narrador? No encuentra lo que encontró Miguel Ángel Asturias, o Mario Monteforte Toledo, o Mario Payeras. Ese mundo ha sido desplazado por un territorio en disputa, a pesar de su devastación. Se lo disputan viejos terratenientes cuyos códigos han perdido todo significado, campesinos sin tierra, sobrevivientes de las masacres de la contrainsurgencia, banqueros buitres, narcotraficantes y ángeles henchidos de cocaína que reclaman su acceso de vuelta al cielo.
Trucha panza arriba: Toda la crueldad. Toda la ternura."
Arnoldo Gálvez Suárez
Trucha panza arriba: Toda la crueldad. Toda la ternura."
Arnoldo Gálvez Suárez
126 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
11 people are currently reading
968 people want to read
About the author
Rodrigo Fuentes
15 books14 followersConsidered to be one of the most prominent names among the new generation of Guatemalan writers, Rodrigo Fuentes (1984) won the Carátula Central American Short Story Prize (2014) as well as the Juegos Florales of Quetzaltenango Short Story Prize (2008). He is the co-founder and editor of the magazine Suelta and of the digital publishing house and literary journal Traviesa. Trout, Belly Up was shortlisted for the 2018 Premio Hispanoamericano de Cuento Gabriel García Márquez, the most prestigious prize awarded to short-story writers in Latin America. It has been published in Guatemala, Bolivia, Chile and Colombia, as well as in France. Rodrigo currently lectures at the College of the Holy Cross in the United States, and lives between Providence and Guatemala. This is his first book to appear in English.
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March 22, 2019
That family stuff's complicated, I told Don Henrik
[...]
We're silent my mother and I, watching the window, watching his body tremble. Henrik turns towards us, looking back inside, tears streaming down his face, and raises the gun to the sky. Then the shots begin.
The above are the first and last words from Trout, Belly Up, a short story collection, beautifully translated by Ellen Jones from Guatemalan novelist Rodrigo Fuentes's 2016 original, Trucha panza arriba, and published by the wonderful Charco Press (see below).
Other Guatemalan novelists I have read (again see below) include the great Augusto Monterroso (1921-2003) and, still active, Rodrigo Rey Rosa (1958-). Fuentes is from a newer generation, and while acknowledging the importance of both for his career, for this particular book takes as a more important influence Juan Carlos Onetti (he has also namechecked Carver, Cheever, Hemingway and Chekhov.)
As in Onetti's work, Trout, Belly Up is a collection of short stories that share themes, motifs and even characters (at least by name and nature).
And in contrast to his peers in the modern generation, whose work focuses on urban settings, Fuentes returns to the countryside of his literary predecessors (see https://nomada.gt/cotidianidad/sobre-...
), albeit one corrupted by the money and greediness from the cities, where violence now almost forms part of the otherwise beautiful landscape.
The key recurrent character in most, but not explicitly all, of the stories is Henrik, 'Don Henrik' to those who work for him. Henrik acts as a bridge between the urban and countryside settings, typically involved in legal disputes with shady characters, or failing business ventures, with repercussions for those who work with him and his family members (with overlap between the two groups). Indeed the impact of violence on the family is another key theme of the novel.
But this can not be said to be a linked collection in the formal sense: there is very little cross-reference of events, indeed some of the stories don't even seem to be self-consistent in their setting and they weren't all written together.
In the first, title, story Henrik has taken his inspiration for a trout farm from a trip to Scandinavia, as part of his world travels.
While in the last story, titled Henrik, he is explicitly Scandinavia by origin, and has inherited a cardamom farm. That story (and the character) was originally titled Amir, and won II Premio Centroamericano de Carátula de Cuento Breve in 2014 (a earlier translation by Kate Newman can be found here https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/a...)
And the story Ubaldo's island was the first written for this collection, and does not mention Henrik by name, although the 'boss' referred to, largely off page, shares many of his characteristics.
In particular. Henrik is both the magnet for violence but also those others look to for reassurance.
One key recurring image in the stories, noted by other characters, is his hands and how others perceive them:
immense hands, all cigarettes look little in his enormous hands, his firm handshake is remarked upon, his fingers big and heavy, but kind, hands determined and capable of resolving any mishap but later, as troubles mount previously serene hands now carrying an air of dejection.
Tommi's review of the novel (to appear at the https://www.helsinkibookreview.com/) highlights a quote from the last story which is key to the mood of the collection as a whole:
He spoke of vague, sometimes dark characters, contacts in the countryside, individuals who came and went from his story with no clear purpose, and he also spoke of La Corregidora, seized by the bank and taken over by the farmhands.
The blurb on the back is from the Bolivian author Rodrigo Hasbún and the entire quote from which it is taken is worth quoting in full (with my google-assisted translation) as it forms a fitting summary:
My experience of Guatemalan fiction
The country has a Nobel Prize winner - Miguel Ángel Asturias. Must admit I have not read him.
A higher profile name though would be Augusto Monterroso, part of the 1960s Latin boom (Garcia Marquez, Vargas Llosa, Fuentes etc). I have read his The Black Sheep And Other Fables albeit many years ago. Most famous for the story that is often cited as the greatest piece of flash fiction, and which simply reads:
Cuando despertó, el dinosaurio todavía estaba allí.
When he awoke, the dinosaur was still there.
From contemporary writers, I have become a big fan of Rodrigo Rey Rosa based on Severina and The African Shore. He has another in translation due out very shortly. My review of Severina: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Publisher
This is the 11th book (all of which I have read) from the wonderful Charco Press:
https://www.eldeber.com.bo/escenas/Ro...
http://elperiodico.com.gt/oculta/2017...
http://www.esquisses.net/2017/01/entr...
[...]
We're silent my mother and I, watching the window, watching his body tremble. Henrik turns towards us, looking back inside, tears streaming down his face, and raises the gun to the sky. Then the shots begin.
The above are the first and last words from Trout, Belly Up, a short story collection, beautifully translated by Ellen Jones from Guatemalan novelist Rodrigo Fuentes's 2016 original, Trucha panza arriba, and published by the wonderful Charco Press (see below).
Other Guatemalan novelists I have read (again see below) include the great Augusto Monterroso (1921-2003) and, still active, Rodrigo Rey Rosa (1958-). Fuentes is from a newer generation, and while acknowledging the importance of both for his career, for this particular book takes as a more important influence Juan Carlos Onetti (he has also namechecked Carver, Cheever, Hemingway and Chekhov.)
As in Onetti's work, Trout, Belly Up is a collection of short stories that share themes, motifs and even characters (at least by name and nature).
And in contrast to his peers in the modern generation, whose work focuses on urban settings, Fuentes returns to the countryside of his literary predecessors (see https://nomada.gt/cotidianidad/sobre-...
), albeit one corrupted by the money and greediness from the cities, where violence now almost forms part of the otherwise beautiful landscape.
The key recurrent character in most, but not explicitly all, of the stories is Henrik, 'Don Henrik' to those who work for him. Henrik acts as a bridge between the urban and countryside settings, typically involved in legal disputes with shady characters, or failing business ventures, with repercussions for those who work with him and his family members (with overlap between the two groups). Indeed the impact of violence on the family is another key theme of the novel.
But this can not be said to be a linked collection in the formal sense: there is very little cross-reference of events, indeed some of the stories don't even seem to be self-consistent in their setting and they weren't all written together.
In the first, title, story Henrik has taken his inspiration for a trout farm from a trip to Scandinavia, as part of his world travels.
While in the last story, titled Henrik, he is explicitly Scandinavia by origin, and has inherited a cardamom farm. That story (and the character) was originally titled Amir, and won II Premio Centroamericano de Carátula de Cuento Breve in 2014 (a earlier translation by Kate Newman can be found here https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/a...)
And the story Ubaldo's island was the first written for this collection, and does not mention Henrik by name, although the 'boss' referred to, largely off page, shares many of his characteristics.
In particular. Henrik is both the magnet for violence but also those others look to for reassurance.
One key recurring image in the stories, noted by other characters, is his hands and how others perceive them:
immense hands, all cigarettes look little in his enormous hands, his firm handshake is remarked upon, his fingers big and heavy, but kind, hands determined and capable of resolving any mishap but later, as troubles mount previously serene hands now carrying an air of dejection.
Tommi's review of the novel (to appear at the https://www.helsinkibookreview.com/) highlights a quote from the last story which is key to the mood of the collection as a whole:
He spoke of vague, sometimes dark characters, contacts in the countryside, individuals who came and went from his story with no clear purpose, and he also spoke of La Corregidora, seized by the bank and taken over by the farmhands.
The blurb on the back is from the Bolivian author Rodrigo Hasbún and the entire quote from which it is taken is worth quoting in full (with my google-assisted translation) as it forms a fitting summary:
Por la mayoría de los cuentos de Trucha panza arriba deambula Henrik, un hombre bueno al que la desgracia no da tregua. A partir de su figura entrañable, con el trasfondo de una Guatemala apacible y violenta a la vez, va emergiendo una coreografía hecha de lealtades y traiciones, encrucijadas familiares, y distintas formas de la entrega y la crueldad. Va emergiendo también un estilo de una precisión y una belleza que, línea a línea, te dejan sin aliento. Con gracia y discreción, Rodrigo Fuentes ha escrito un libro sutil, luminoso, memorable.3.5 stars - I'm not sure my knowledge of the country and its literary traditions was sufficient to appreciate all that Fuentes has done, but reading various interviews (see below) as to his attentions, I came to better understand his project.
For the majority of the tales of Trout, Belly Up Henrik wanders, a good man to whom misfortune gives no respite. From his endearing figure, with the background of a peaceful and violent Guatemala, a choreography emerges made of loyalties and betrayals, family crossroads, and different forms of surrender and cruelty. There also emerges a style of precision and beauty that, line by line, leave you breathless. With grace and humility, Rodrigo Fuentes has written a subtle, luminous, memorable book.
My experience of Guatemalan fiction
The country has a Nobel Prize winner - Miguel Ángel Asturias. Must admit I have not read him.
A higher profile name though would be Augusto Monterroso, part of the 1960s Latin boom (Garcia Marquez, Vargas Llosa, Fuentes etc). I have read his The Black Sheep And Other Fables albeit many years ago. Most famous for the story that is often cited as the greatest piece of flash fiction, and which simply reads:
Cuando despertó, el dinosaurio todavía estaba allí.
When he awoke, the dinosaur was still there.
From contemporary writers, I have become a big fan of Rodrigo Rey Rosa based on Severina and The African Shore. He has another in translation due out very shortly. My review of Severina: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Publisher
This is the 11th book (all of which I have read) from the wonderful Charco Press:
Charco Press focuses on finding outstanding contemporary Latin American literature and bringing it to new readers in the English-speaking world. We aim to act as a cultural and linguistic bridge for you to be able to access a brand new world of fiction that has, until now, been missing from your reading list.Translation quality is also, rightfully, key to their approach:
We also consider our translators to be a critical part of the equation. They are the conduits bringing our authors' voices to you, and it is their interpretation, their attention to the nuances, that makes the difference. We select contemporary translators, to give our authors a modern voice.Interviews with the author
https://www.eldeber.com.bo/escenas/Ro...
http://elperiodico.com.gt/oculta/2017...
http://www.esquisses.net/2017/01/entr...
March 5, 2019
Charco Press is perhaps my favourite small UK press – they focus on “finding outstanding contemporary Latin American literature and bringing it to new readers in the English-speaking world”. I have read all 10 of their previous novels.
Their 2017/early 2018 set of 5 novels were all by Argentinian authors including Die, My Love – which I was, as a judge, delighted to shortlist for the 2017/18 Republic of Consciousness Prize for small presses and which then went on to be longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker International Prize.
Their 2018 set by contrast featured authors from five different countries (Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Uruguay and Brazil) – the last three auto-fictional in nature.
2019 brings adds two new countries to the list – Mexico and this short story collection set in Guatemala by the author Rodrigo Fuentes.
The stories feature a Guatemala of outstanding natural beauty and peace – but suddenly torn by mad made conflict and violence in a poverty-stricken society, racked by extortion. Similarly a society with tight family and community bonds but ones which can be quickly wrenched apart.
A society which (as the first and title story hints) is less dog-eat-dog than fish-eat-fish:
One of Charco’s key aims is to fit the translator to the novelist and book – and, as with all their publications it works superbly here. One can only admire the naturalness of Ellen Jones translation - just as the stories are set against a background of Guatemala's nature - but there is a sparseness to the writing, matching the harshness of the society that man has created there.
The stories are connected in images and themes and in the (loosely) common character of a farm owner - Don Henrik/Henrik/the boss – who features in one guise or another in almost all the stories, not necessarily in a consistent way. My impression was that he was more of a recurring archetype than a single individual.
The last story is in fact titled just “Henrik” - and in my view it forms an excellent way to examine many of the ideas and images that link across the other stories.
So for example:
That story opens with Henrik stating “This one here’s family” about the narrator who is his step-son: “Trout Belly Up”, a story of the destruction caused by infidelity on a fish farm, begins with the line “That family stuff’s complicated”.
The troll-obsessed Henrik claims Scandinavian descent and grows Cardomom: the Don Henrik in “Trout Belly Up” has melon plantations and imports his new trout venture from Norway, which he visits on his global travels.
Henrik and the narrator’s mother gaze at a lake weeping – which reminded me of the parents distress in “Dive” when they hear of the narrator’s brother (their son) having suffered a decompression injury diving for legendary Mayan treasure in a lake.
Henrik’s father – after the plunge in cardamom prices, hangs himself from a ceiba tree: this for me was a grotesque echo of the practical joke the brother plays in “Dive” when he decorates the family's ceiba tree with the family shoes as a pretend Christmas tree.
Henrik’s family farm is “seized by the bank and taken over by the farmhands” in an echo of the agricultural worker unrest that forms a backdrop to “Out of the Bule Perla” – the story of a gangster-defying, cruelly violated, dog-wannabe cow
Henrik we read “was on the brink of an abyss”: like the father in “Whisky” (possibly the injured brother in “Dive”) stands on when he decides to try and rescue the dog that has formed his way out of addiction and his pathway to a relationship with his daughter.
Henrik is also subject to extortion from gangster’s trying to force him to sign over his farm properties: just like the Boss in “Ubaldo’s Island” (the most hopeful book in the set as a community unites to fight off a gang).
The violence that ends the book – with the line “Then the shots began” beings with Henrik pointing a gun at some plants and the narrator and his mother hearing from home “words or sounds that might be words”: in “Terrace” (a very short story about a journey Henrik takes with the narrator) Henrik laughs about people singing to their plants to help them grow.
Overall another excellent addition to Charco’s increasingly impressive list.
Their 2017/early 2018 set of 5 novels were all by Argentinian authors including Die, My Love – which I was, as a judge, delighted to shortlist for the 2017/18 Republic of Consciousness Prize for small presses and which then went on to be longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker International Prize.
Their 2018 set by contrast featured authors from five different countries (Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Uruguay and Brazil) – the last three auto-fictional in nature.
2019 brings adds two new countries to the list – Mexico and this short story collection set in Guatemala by the author Rodrigo Fuentes.
The stories feature a Guatemala of outstanding natural beauty and peace – but suddenly torn by mad made conflict and violence in a poverty-stricken society, racked by extortion. Similarly a society with tight family and community bonds but ones which can be quickly wrenched apart.
A society which (as the first and title story hints) is less dog-eat-dog than fish-eat-fish:
Trout are delicate creatures … but they’re completely savage. They eat meat, even their own ….I’d spend long periods watching them swimming anti-clockwise, all together like a big happy family. One time a trout began to peel off from the group, rising in tighter and tighter circles until it was flapping about near the surface. Its mouth started to gape and it went belly up … from one moment to the next the whole tank freaked out. The water was churning.. and the surface filled with the metallic flashes of a knife fight. A minute later … the big family was once again swimming anti-clockwise. There was no signs of the trout that went belly up.
One of Charco’s key aims is to fit the translator to the novelist and book – and, as with all their publications it works superbly here. One can only admire the naturalness of Ellen Jones translation - just as the stories are set against a background of Guatemala's nature - but there is a sparseness to the writing, matching the harshness of the society that man has created there.
The stories are connected in images and themes and in the (loosely) common character of a farm owner - Don Henrik/Henrik/the boss – who features in one guise or another in almost all the stories, not necessarily in a consistent way. My impression was that he was more of a recurring archetype than a single individual.
The last story is in fact titled just “Henrik” - and in my view it forms an excellent way to examine many of the ideas and images that link across the other stories.
So for example:
That story opens with Henrik stating “This one here’s family” about the narrator who is his step-son: “Trout Belly Up”, a story of the destruction caused by infidelity on a fish farm, begins with the line “That family stuff’s complicated”.
The troll-obsessed Henrik claims Scandinavian descent and grows Cardomom: the Don Henrik in “Trout Belly Up” has melon plantations and imports his new trout venture from Norway, which he visits on his global travels.
Henrik and the narrator’s mother gaze at a lake weeping – which reminded me of the parents distress in “Dive” when they hear of the narrator’s brother (their son) having suffered a decompression injury diving for legendary Mayan treasure in a lake.
Henrik’s father – after the plunge in cardamom prices, hangs himself from a ceiba tree: this for me was a grotesque echo of the practical joke the brother plays in “Dive” when he decorates the family's ceiba tree with the family shoes as a pretend Christmas tree.
Henrik’s family farm is “seized by the bank and taken over by the farmhands” in an echo of the agricultural worker unrest that forms a backdrop to “Out of the Bule Perla” – the story of a gangster-defying, cruelly violated, dog-wannabe cow
Henrik we read “was on the brink of an abyss”: like the father in “Whisky” (possibly the injured brother in “Dive”) stands on when he decides to try and rescue the dog that has formed his way out of addiction and his pathway to a relationship with his daughter.
Henrik is also subject to extortion from gangster’s trying to force him to sign over his farm properties: just like the Boss in “Ubaldo’s Island” (the most hopeful book in the set as a community unites to fight off a gang).
The violence that ends the book – with the line “Then the shots began” beings with Henrik pointing a gun at some plants and the narrator and his mother hearing from home “words or sounds that might be words”: in “Terrace” (a very short story about a journey Henrik takes with the narrator) Henrik laughs about people singing to their plants to help them grow.
Overall another excellent addition to Charco’s increasingly impressive list.
March 13, 2019
This is the first book I received as part of the 2019 bundle of books from Charco press having previously read Die, My Love and Resistance which both whetted my appetite for more. And whilst I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as those other two, it is still a strong collection that means I look forward to receiving the rest of the The Lot during the course of the year.
Trout, Belly Up is a loosely interconnected collection of short stories. There are some characters (or character names, at least) that recur, with Henrik (or Don Henrik, or, presumably, the Boss) being the main one. But there are also themes the recur in these stories of Guatemalan life. The first story gives the collection its overall title and describes the time Don Henrik sets up a trout farm on his land at the top of a hill. It sets the mood for most of the rest of the stories:
One time a trout began to peel off from the group, rising in tighter and tighter circles until it was flapping about near the surface. Its mouth started to gape and it went belly up … from one moment to the next the whole tank freaked out. The water was churning.. and the surface filled with the metallic flashes of a knife fight. A minute later … the big family was once again swimming anti-clockwise. There was no signs of the trout that went belly up.
There is often the threat of violence and intimidation in the stories. They are all either short or very short, but they manage to evoke both characters and environments very effectively.
It is perhaps unfortunate for this book that about a third of the way through I began to think that it reminded me of Denis Johnson in some way (not just because of Jesus’ Son which is a set of interconnected short stories, but also something about the language and the imagery). This is unfortunate for this book because Denis Johnson is one of my favourite authors and the prose here, whilst often beautiful (and full marks to the translator) does not quite reach the same giddy heights and the emotions don’t quite reach the same gritty depths as those produced by Johnson. This is just about personal taste, I know, but once I had that in my mind, I found it hard to let it go.
This is probably a 3.5 star book for me, but rounded down for now because of the vague sense of disappointment and the fact that what it really made me want to do is go back and re-read Jesus’ Son or Train Dreams (amongst others).
Trout, Belly Up is a loosely interconnected collection of short stories. There are some characters (or character names, at least) that recur, with Henrik (or Don Henrik, or, presumably, the Boss) being the main one. But there are also themes the recur in these stories of Guatemalan life. The first story gives the collection its overall title and describes the time Don Henrik sets up a trout farm on his land at the top of a hill. It sets the mood for most of the rest of the stories:
One time a trout began to peel off from the group, rising in tighter and tighter circles until it was flapping about near the surface. Its mouth started to gape and it went belly up … from one moment to the next the whole tank freaked out. The water was churning.. and the surface filled with the metallic flashes of a knife fight. A minute later … the big family was once again swimming anti-clockwise. There was no signs of the trout that went belly up.
There is often the threat of violence and intimidation in the stories. They are all either short or very short, but they manage to evoke both characters and environments very effectively.
It is perhaps unfortunate for this book that about a third of the way through I began to think that it reminded me of Denis Johnson in some way (not just because of Jesus’ Son which is a set of interconnected short stories, but also something about the language and the imagery). This is unfortunate for this book because Denis Johnson is one of my favourite authors and the prose here, whilst often beautiful (and full marks to the translator) does not quite reach the same giddy heights and the emotions don’t quite reach the same gritty depths as those produced by Johnson. This is just about personal taste, I know, but once I had that in my mind, I found it hard to let it go.
This is probably a 3.5 star book for me, but rounded down for now because of the vague sense of disappointment and the fact that what it really made me want to do is go back and re-read Jesus’ Son or Train Dreams (amongst others).
May 18, 2025
reading around the world one book at a time 2025: guatemala
Told in a set of interconnected short stories, Trout, belly up follows episodes in the life of a man, his family and the people that work for him.
The stories are short and usually represent a rural and agricultural landscape; they might be a difficult read for some as only bad things happen to animals. I’ve read the book a month ago (it feels longer to be honest) and I can’t stop thinking about that poor cow, but apart from that it didn’t leave a big imprint on me.
Told in a set of interconnected short stories, Trout, belly up follows episodes in the life of a man, his family and the people that work for him.
The stories are short and usually represent a rural and agricultural landscape; they might be a difficult read for some as only bad things happen to animals. I’ve read the book a month ago (it feels longer to be honest) and I can’t stop thinking about that poor cow, but apart from that it didn’t leave a big imprint on me.
June 25, 2024
Publishing writing from countries that have rarely had English translations is one of the many strengths of Charco Press, and this collection of linked stories from Guatemalan Rodrigo Fuentes is a good example.
Here, the focus is on the contrary nature and insecurity of rural life in the country.
The first story, the title of the book, sets the common theme, starved by a lack of oxygen and floating belly up in their farm pool. Don Henrik is a well-travelled plantation owner who seeks to supplement his income with a rainbow trout farm. He employs an assistant, the narrator, to run the operation, but he is distracted by an affair and disaster strikes.
It may be a slim collection at just a hundred pages, but as a result there are no weak stories. They are tenuously linked to each other only, but Fuentes’s style becomes evident; something dark lurks as a twist in the final paragraphs, but he stops short of describing violent acts themselves.
Very enjoyable.
Here, the focus is on the contrary nature and insecurity of rural life in the country.
The first story, the title of the book, sets the common theme, starved by a lack of oxygen and floating belly up in their farm pool. Don Henrik is a well-travelled plantation owner who seeks to supplement his income with a rainbow trout farm. He employs an assistant, the narrator, to run the operation, but he is distracted by an affair and disaster strikes.
It may be a slim collection at just a hundred pages, but as a result there are no weak stories. They are tenuously linked to each other only, but Fuentes’s style becomes evident; something dark lurks as a twist in the final paragraphs, but he stops short of describing violent acts themselves.
Very enjoyable.
February 11, 2019
Another strong collection of latin-american short stories (this time Guatemalan), published by Charco Press. Much like Charco's first publication of Argentine short stories, Southerly, I was engrossed in these stories, then the endings jolted me to a rude stop. It is not a style I am particularly fond of in the short story form, but is so often used. I need to know more.
April 23, 2023
Autor que sabe escuchar, que sabe de ritmo. Logra una voz entrañable, realmente entrañable, pero eso mismo le juega en contra, se engolosina y le fallan los saltos de tiempo y los entrecruces. Luego repite fórmulas (palabras, frases, entonaciones) y las voces comienzan a dividirse nomás por contexto: en el campo hablan así, en la ciudad hablan asá. Pero bien, eh, bien bien bien. Quiero leer más
July 28, 2025
Guatemalan author Rodrigo Fuentes' book of short stories is my sixth book from Charco Press for Latin American summer, and I've been lucky enough to read it while in Guatemala: this review actually comes from a cafe on Lake Atitlan!
Rural Guatemala is at the heart of these stories, focusing on farms, family, addiction, and corruption. They feature a dog named Whisky, a cow named Perla, another dog called Blue, and a farmer called Don Henrik, who links all the stories together.
These short stories pack a decent punch, and Fuentes' writing is vivid, able to portray what is lovely and what is gruesome in equal measure.
At 96 pages, this was a quick read, and well worth it if you're looking for a decent collection of short stories, or for something from a country not usually represented in English-language fiction.
Rural Guatemala is at the heart of these stories, focusing on farms, family, addiction, and corruption. They feature a dog named Whisky, a cow named Perla, another dog called Blue, and a farmer called Don Henrik, who links all the stories together.
These short stories pack a decent punch, and Fuentes' writing is vivid, able to portray what is lovely and what is gruesome in equal measure.
At 96 pages, this was a quick read, and well worth it if you're looking for a decent collection of short stories, or for something from a country not usually represented in English-language fiction.
February 8, 2019
(3.5) Trout are delicate creatures and can’t handle temperatures over thirteen degrees. That’s why Don Henrik bought his land right at the top of the mountain, because he wanted ice cold spring water.
Against the backdrop of agricultural Guatemala, Rodrigo Fuentes presents seven interconnected scenes of danger in this fine although short collection of stories. Trout, Belly Up, a title piquing curiosity in itself, starts by depicting Henrik’s troubles of setting up a trout hatchery on the top of a mountain – which ostensibly has its equivalent in real Northwestern Guatemala – and the image of trout dying (belly up) is carried through the other stories that more or less involve death. The trout’s lack of oxygen is repeated in “Dive” where Henrik and Mati go diving with a fatal outcome, to name one example. In what I would consider the best story in the collection, “Out of the Blue, Perla,” set amidst a revolt triggered by the laying off of farmworkers, a cow named Perla stands up against a bunch of gunmen with such self-assurance that it simultaneously baffled, amused, and worried me:
A few feet away she stopped. A couple of the gunmen came over and looked at her. Perla lowed at the sky and started to circle them familiarly, the cheeky thing. One of the men said something, his words harsh, but the rest were quiet, as curious as I was. Because Perla was giving them a look that was entirely human. And it wasn’t the sort of look just anybody could give: it was the look a woman gives when she knows she’s being looked at by a man. One of those women who snatches your gaze and slaps it right back at you. That’s the look Perla was giving them.
I am yet unsure what exactly Trout, Belly Up is, but at least on one level it probes the barrier between the human and the animal and especially so in the context of poor Guatemalan countryside. I must have missed details as my knowledge of the country is limited to a few negligible Google searches while reading, and therefore, in my shameful ignorance, I offer what Henrik himself says in the concluding story, perhaps applicable to Fuentes himself:
He spoke of vague, sometimes dark characters, contacts in the countryside, individuals who came and went from his story with no clear purpose, and he also spoke of La Corregidora, seized by the bank and taken over by the farmhands.
Charco Press has become known for their clear and effortlessly read translations, and the same is true here: Ellen Jones’ translation into English reads so smoothly that, combined with the overall short length, Trout, Belly Up is the sort of a book one can devour in one sitting while being entertained by Fuentes’ curious stories but also shaken by the country’s troubled state of affairs.
Against the backdrop of agricultural Guatemala, Rodrigo Fuentes presents seven interconnected scenes of danger in this fine although short collection of stories. Trout, Belly Up, a title piquing curiosity in itself, starts by depicting Henrik’s troubles of setting up a trout hatchery on the top of a mountain – which ostensibly has its equivalent in real Northwestern Guatemala – and the image of trout dying (belly up) is carried through the other stories that more or less involve death. The trout’s lack of oxygen is repeated in “Dive” where Henrik and Mati go diving with a fatal outcome, to name one example. In what I would consider the best story in the collection, “Out of the Blue, Perla,” set amidst a revolt triggered by the laying off of farmworkers, a cow named Perla stands up against a bunch of gunmen with such self-assurance that it simultaneously baffled, amused, and worried me:
A few feet away she stopped. A couple of the gunmen came over and looked at her. Perla lowed at the sky and started to circle them familiarly, the cheeky thing. One of the men said something, his words harsh, but the rest were quiet, as curious as I was. Because Perla was giving them a look that was entirely human. And it wasn’t the sort of look just anybody could give: it was the look a woman gives when she knows she’s being looked at by a man. One of those women who snatches your gaze and slaps it right back at you. That’s the look Perla was giving them.
I am yet unsure what exactly Trout, Belly Up is, but at least on one level it probes the barrier between the human and the animal and especially so in the context of poor Guatemalan countryside. I must have missed details as my knowledge of the country is limited to a few negligible Google searches while reading, and therefore, in my shameful ignorance, I offer what Henrik himself says in the concluding story, perhaps applicable to Fuentes himself:
He spoke of vague, sometimes dark characters, contacts in the countryside, individuals who came and went from his story with no clear purpose, and he also spoke of La Corregidora, seized by the bank and taken over by the farmhands.
Charco Press has become known for their clear and effortlessly read translations, and the same is true here: Ellen Jones’ translation into English reads so smoothly that, combined with the overall short length, Trout, Belly Up is the sort of a book one can devour in one sitting while being entertained by Fuentes’ curious stories but also shaken by the country’s troubled state of affairs.
December 30, 2017
Toda la crueldad. Toda la ternura.
May 11, 2024
Another Latin American writer and another absolutely sublime collection of interconnected stories.
Fuentes tells stories of struggle and grief in the hills of Guatemala, of gangs and senseless violence from human hands, and of the beauty of life in and amongst nature.
Without doubt some of the best literature I've read for a long while. Highly recommend. Onto Brickmakers by Selva Almada next.
Fuentes tells stories of struggle and grief in the hills of Guatemala, of gangs and senseless violence from human hands, and of the beauty of life in and amongst nature.
Without doubt some of the best literature I've read for a long while. Highly recommend. Onto Brickmakers by Selva Almada next.
February 5, 2019
An affecting and at times shocking collection of interconnected stories based in the mountains in Guatemala and exploring the desperation of rural life in a changing world. Tender in place and brutal in others, but it earns both.
February 23, 2019
A finely wrought book of linked short stories about the challenges of life in rural Guatemala. My first exposure to Charco Press and I'm very impressed.
April 16, 2019
A man named Don Henrik is the connection between the stories, and though he is not the centre of the story until the end, through the tales narrated we get to know the hardships he has encountered as he struggles to run his various business ventures, we learn about the equally difficult path his brother took, and how that contributed to his father's financial difficulties.
Don Henrik seems like a man who wants to live an ordinary life, he has the fortitude to create something out of nothing, he is kind, but he lives in a society where men give in to temptation, and are lead astray by a desire, by greed, by revenge, addiction and so always there are situations to be dealt with.
It's set in the Guatamalan countryside and forest, a place that offers rest and tranquility and yet is beset with an undercurrent of hostility and violence, infiltrated by merciless entrepreneurs, hitmen, father's desperate to go straight, endangering their daughters and their dog, and the plain stupid, caught in a web of thinking they can make easy money, only to meet premature death.
Some will relate to it's Hemingway-esque style, for me, it was an interesting and easy read, though I quickly began to feel like I was reading a book written for men (and yet what is it that is missing that would have elevated it for me), as we launch quickly into a tale of infidelity, of a man with a loyal wife and daughters distracted by a young shop girl, willing to sacrifice everything for a few moments of pleasure; men arriving with guns intent on teaching a lesson to other men, taking out their violent intent on an innocent animal, the bond between two men, their lives and friendship endangered by their descent into drugs and recklessly pursuing an activity (involving a boat and diving) while under the influence.
Don Henrik isn't the cause of any of this, he has bad karma perhaps, he is a good man, he donated a kidney to his wife, he is tired, he's found another good woman and just wants peace, but he's a land owner, there are those who covet what he has, his desire for tranquility in this world he inhabits, observed by so much dysfunction, is an impossible ask.
Don Henrik seems like a man who wants to live an ordinary life, he has the fortitude to create something out of nothing, he is kind, but he lives in a society where men give in to temptation, and are lead astray by a desire, by greed, by revenge, addiction and so always there are situations to be dealt with.
It's set in the Guatamalan countryside and forest, a place that offers rest and tranquility and yet is beset with an undercurrent of hostility and violence, infiltrated by merciless entrepreneurs, hitmen, father's desperate to go straight, endangering their daughters and their dog, and the plain stupid, caught in a web of thinking they can make easy money, only to meet premature death.
Some will relate to it's Hemingway-esque style, for me, it was an interesting and easy read, though I quickly began to feel like I was reading a book written for men (and yet what is it that is missing that would have elevated it for me), as we launch quickly into a tale of infidelity, of a man with a loyal wife and daughters distracted by a young shop girl, willing to sacrifice everything for a few moments of pleasure; men arriving with guns intent on teaching a lesson to other men, taking out their violent intent on an innocent animal, the bond between two men, their lives and friendship endangered by their descent into drugs and recklessly pursuing an activity (involving a boat and diving) while under the influence.
Don Henrik isn't the cause of any of this, he has bad karma perhaps, he is a good man, he donated a kidney to his wife, he is tired, he's found another good woman and just wants peace, but he's a land owner, there are those who covet what he has, his desire for tranquility in this world he inhabits, observed by so much dysfunction, is an impossible ask.
June 28, 2021
I'm glad I read this, but I don't think I really understand them. I understand some of the themes but can't help but think there are layers that I am missing because I don't know anything about Guatemalan history or current socio political issues. I think notes or context sections included by the publisher or translator would have been helpful. Most of the stories are quite depressing and feel incomplete. The prose is lovely though.
March 23, 2020
Siento que ha estas alturas sólo tengo que dejar de leer colecciones de cuentos.
December 16, 2021
Interconnected stories collection about the Guatemalan rural life.
Ubaldo's eyes are greyish, a bit like the dirty sea crashing on the beach.
They met one night by the lake, my mother and Henrik, which wouldn't be important if the lake hadn't somehow reflected their shared constancy, an unruffled, uniform peace stretched over the surface, unchanging.
Ubaldo's eyes are greyish, a bit like the dirty sea crashing on the beach.
They met one night by the lake, my mother and Henrik, which wouldn't be important if the lake hadn't somehow reflected their shared constancy, an unruffled, uniform peace stretched over the surface, unchanging.
April 7, 2023
Una buena recopilación de historias. Todas giran alrededor de los temas de la tierra y la familia y están relativamente unidos por la figura de Henrick. Los ambientes están bastante bien conseguidos, igual que las tramas y los personajes. Mi mayor problema es que siento que se queda corto.
July 15, 2025
Son historias que atrapan. Sus personajes atraviesan estados emocionales casi caóticos. Hay una oscuridad que recorre las historias y que se complementa con ciertos momentos de calidez y ternura. Mi cuento favorito fue Güisqui.
January 22, 2021
**Really excellent and informative review of this by Thomas Blake here.**(has spoilers but also v useful historical and sociopolitical context). Couldn't put it better than this: "In Trout, Belly Up, Guatemalan author Rodrigo Fuentes offers a different view: the view of those who choose to remain. In doing so, he provides insights into why displacement might occur, why humans feel the need to move in their thousands to countries whose promises were exposed long ago as over-optimistic or fraudulent. But that is not his primary concern. These are stories about various types of hardship and conflict, where hardship is unending and conflict is self-perpetuating."
I really felt the hardship too, amongst the conversational and down-to-earth tone. I notice translator Ellen Jones comments on her effort to capture the colloquial tone in her really insightful piece "Life on the Edge"; this reads like a Translator's Note, and a masterful one at that. As I was reading Trout, Belly Up I was struck by this really interesting (and heart-breaking) line that was walked between pressure from threats, violence and misplaced power to a lack of self-confidence and failing personal judgement; both sides of this equation seem to make up the hardship that plays out. I too thought Whisky an original and valuable example - Mati's financial issues, isolation from his community and lack of social support leave a particular feeling of discomfort given his lapses to alcoholism and his tunnel vision. But on top of that, his love for his daughter and feelings about his ex-wife are very poignant. In my opinion, Don Henrik is not the only character in this set who has a big (but complicated) heart.
Probably an uncommon opinion, but I thought Ubaldo's Island was one of my favourites; it stood out and several dots connected together the collection's pieces in my head as I read it, perhaps because the land acquisition narrative was so blatant and the picture of the community threatened was so vivid. But also because of how threat and aggression was woven into the narrative to reflect what I understand must be an underlying feeling of being constantly on edge in real life. For all Ubaldo's machismo, despite his somewhat blase attitude and even something close to a 'happy'(?? maybe triumphant??) ending, the sinister message got through to me.
While there is plenty of subject matter that is dark, there is warmth in some of the characters' relationships - Mati and his daughter's I think an example, also Don Henrik and his wife/the mother. Slight tangent, and I don't know if it's just me but all the names were so beautiful-sounding! (eg I really like Analí) Then on top of this, some of their ties to nature makes the language (and therefore translation!!) glitter - Perla being an obvious one, but also things like this:
"You've got the three huge volcanoes on the other side of the lake, the shore skirting their flanks as it runs round the basin. At that time of day everything looks sharp but also very still. When the sun rises behind you the tips of the volcanoes start to glow and the light descends the slopes until it reaches the lake. It's so clear you can see everything that's going on in the water too - the fish in a morning daze, slipping lazily along the current."
Final comment is just that the quality of literature from Charco Press never fails to disappoint.
I really felt the hardship too, amongst the conversational and down-to-earth tone. I notice translator Ellen Jones comments on her effort to capture the colloquial tone in her really insightful piece "Life on the Edge"; this reads like a Translator's Note, and a masterful one at that. As I was reading Trout, Belly Up I was struck by this really interesting (and heart-breaking) line that was walked between pressure from threats, violence and misplaced power to a lack of self-confidence and failing personal judgement; both sides of this equation seem to make up the hardship that plays out. I too thought Whisky an original and valuable example - Mati's financial issues, isolation from his community and lack of social support leave a particular feeling of discomfort given his lapses to alcoholism and his tunnel vision. But on top of that, his love for his daughter and feelings about his ex-wife are very poignant. In my opinion, Don Henrik is not the only character in this set who has a big (but complicated) heart.
Probably an uncommon opinion, but I thought Ubaldo's Island was one of my favourites; it stood out and several dots connected together the collection's pieces in my head as I read it, perhaps because the land acquisition narrative was so blatant and the picture of the community threatened was so vivid. But also because of how threat and aggression was woven into the narrative to reflect what I understand must be an underlying feeling of being constantly on edge in real life. For all Ubaldo's machismo, despite his somewhat blase attitude and even something close to a 'happy'(?? maybe triumphant??) ending, the sinister message got through to me.
While there is plenty of subject matter that is dark, there is warmth in some of the characters' relationships - Mati and his daughter's I think an example, also Don Henrik and his wife/the mother. Slight tangent, and I don't know if it's just me but all the names were so beautiful-sounding! (eg I really like Analí) Then on top of this, some of their ties to nature makes the language (and therefore translation!!) glitter - Perla being an obvious one, but also things like this:
"You've got the three huge volcanoes on the other side of the lake, the shore skirting their flanks as it runs round the basin. At that time of day everything looks sharp but also very still. When the sun rises behind you the tips of the volcanoes start to glow and the light descends the slopes until it reaches the lake. It's so clear you can see everything that's going on in the water too - the fish in a morning daze, slipping lazily along the current."
Final comment is just that the quality of literature from Charco Press never fails to disappoint.
March 30, 2021
Translated by Ellen Jones
Six interconnected short stories that provide glimpses into the life of Don Henrik, a good man who is constantly struck by misfortune as he confronts the harsh realities of farming life.
The majority of the short stories are told in the first person and you are given very few clues to figure out who this character is and what their connection to the other stories and characters are. Characters, or at least their names, pop up in multiple stories and the stories aren’t exactly in linear order. They jump around in Don Henrik’s life. Sometimes he is the focus of the story while other times he’s only mentioned or appears for one page and that’s it.
There are no speech marks used throughout the stories and this took a little time to get used to. There’s often large paragraphs where someone talks multiple times, as they are moving or taking a swig of beer, so I needed to pay attention so I could follow what was speech and what was action.
The stories paint a lovely picture of the Guatemalan countryside, with the fields, forests and rocky outcrops, but it never glosses over the difficulties of rural life. There’s the problems with crops failing to grow, water not flowing where it should but then there’s also the threat of violence from merciless entrepreneurs and hitmen, who will do anything to get what they perceive is owed to them.
At 97 pages, Trout, Belly Up is a short story collection that I read in one sitting. I think it works better that way as you see how each story or snapshot is a part of someone’s life and how the characters relate to one another. I believe this is the first short story collection I’ve read where the stories are interconnected and I liked that form of short stories more. Even though the stories are between 10 – 30 pages long each, because they’re connected, they paint a richer picture of the setting and the characters you follow.
Six interconnected short stories that provide glimpses into the life of Don Henrik, a good man who is constantly struck by misfortune as he confronts the harsh realities of farming life.
The majority of the short stories are told in the first person and you are given very few clues to figure out who this character is and what their connection to the other stories and characters are. Characters, or at least their names, pop up in multiple stories and the stories aren’t exactly in linear order. They jump around in Don Henrik’s life. Sometimes he is the focus of the story while other times he’s only mentioned or appears for one page and that’s it.
There are no speech marks used throughout the stories and this took a little time to get used to. There’s often large paragraphs where someone talks multiple times, as they are moving or taking a swig of beer, so I needed to pay attention so I could follow what was speech and what was action.
The stories paint a lovely picture of the Guatemalan countryside, with the fields, forests and rocky outcrops, but it never glosses over the difficulties of rural life. There’s the problems with crops failing to grow, water not flowing where it should but then there’s also the threat of violence from merciless entrepreneurs and hitmen, who will do anything to get what they perceive is owed to them.
At 97 pages, Trout, Belly Up is a short story collection that I read in one sitting. I think it works better that way as you see how each story or snapshot is a part of someone’s life and how the characters relate to one another. I believe this is the first short story collection I’ve read where the stories are interconnected and I liked that form of short stories more. Even though the stories are between 10 – 30 pages long each, because they’re connected, they paint a richer picture of the setting and the characters you follow.
February 1, 2022
Trout, Belly Up encompasses a series of interconnected stories that depict rural life in Guatemala. Poverty is prevalent and each story seems doomed to end in disaster: business endeavors fail, family ties unravel, and ruin is never too far. This had me wondering, about the title. Is it a subtle or not-so-subtle indicator of how the stories are to end? I cannot tell for sure, but quite a few things went "belly up".
•
Fuentes has a way of slowly letting the action simmer to a climax. It is a slow build-up that suddenly goes over. Violence and danger are there but in an almost subdued way. I sometimes found myself holding my breath, waiting for whatever calamity would befall the characters.
•
There is a clarity and simplicity in his writing as translated by Jones that I quite enjoyed, despite usually preferring more lyrical prose. Moreover, while reading, I was reminded of two short stories. The build-up in some stories such as "Whisky" and "Henrik" reminded me "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates and the writing style of Raymond Craver's "Cathedral". And perhaps, what I loved the most in the stories is the depiction of nature and how much it reminded me of Luis Sepulveda's writing.
•
In short, quite a brilliant book with a smooth translation.
•
Some quotes:
•
"He turned the creature over, as though wanting the sun to catch all its hidden colours, but in truth it just looked like any old fish."
•
"The thing is, Tavo was an experienced diver, a licensed diver, but Mati was just a boy, a boy riding on the crest of the wave, keen to get to the bottom of everything."
•
"When the sun rises behind you the tips of the volcanoes start to glow and the light descends the slopes until it reaches the lake. It’s so clear you can see everything that’s going on in the water too – the fish in a morning daze, slipping lazily along the current."
•
Fuentes has a way of slowly letting the action simmer to a climax. It is a slow build-up that suddenly goes over. Violence and danger are there but in an almost subdued way. I sometimes found myself holding my breath, waiting for whatever calamity would befall the characters.
•
There is a clarity and simplicity in his writing as translated by Jones that I quite enjoyed, despite usually preferring more lyrical prose. Moreover, while reading, I was reminded of two short stories. The build-up in some stories such as "Whisky" and "Henrik" reminded me "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates and the writing style of Raymond Craver's "Cathedral". And perhaps, what I loved the most in the stories is the depiction of nature and how much it reminded me of Luis Sepulveda's writing.
•
In short, quite a brilliant book with a smooth translation.
•
Some quotes:
•
"He turned the creature over, as though wanting the sun to catch all its hidden colours, but in truth it just looked like any old fish."
•
"The thing is, Tavo was an experienced diver, a licensed diver, but Mati was just a boy, a boy riding on the crest of the wave, keen to get to the bottom of everything."
•
"When the sun rises behind you the tips of the volcanoes start to glow and the light descends the slopes until it reaches the lake. It’s so clear you can see everything that’s going on in the water too – the fish in a morning daze, slipping lazily along the current."
March 23, 2020
Editorial Laurel pocas veces defrauda, y esta no fue la excepción. Los movimientos de Henrik se fragmentan en 7 cuentos de distinto color pero con el mismo aroma. Mis favoritos fueron "Buceo", "La isla de Ubaldo" y "Güisqui".
September 17, 2020
Me transportó. Me imaginé protagonista de cada relato.
May 16, 2019
Un librito luminoso y oscuro al mismo tiempo. Está escrito en tonos que bordean lo naif, con harto diminutivo e ingenuidad, pero al mismo tiempo se le cuela mucha violencia, violencia bastante casual y desde múltiples direcciones. Yo había escuchado que Guatemala era un país violento. Supongo que este libro de cuentos interconectados viene a confirmarlo, aunque también ofrece panoramas de belleza en sus paisajes salvajes y su gente ferozmente leal.
Me encantó que cada cuento fuese una entidad independiente pero que a la vez se colaran personajes repetidos, en particular el señor Henrik, su hermano Mati, y su hijastro Andrés. Aunque estos personajes son claramente de clase alta, varios de los cuentos se centran en una población rural y pobre, filtrada en mayor o menor medida por estos personajes de clase alta a quienes les relatan sus historias. El resultado es bastante potente, pues las miradas parecen potenciarse y construir un relato más completo. De hecho, el cuento final "Henrik", que carece de la perspectiva más "de pueblo" y parece centrarse casi del todo en los problemas financieros de Henrik, me resultó el más aburrido. Aunque también puede tener que ver con el tema, y la forma en que se esbozaba sin nunca desarrollarse el conflicto. En cambio, los que más me emocionaron fueron los que lidiaban con animales en una forma u otra: el que da su título al libro, el de la vaca Perla, el del perro Güisqui.
En su mayoría, las tramas de estas historias son simples. Por ejemplo, "Trucha panza arriba" es la historia de un marido infiel sin demasiadas vueltas, complejidades, ni siquiera una resolución tan definida. Lo cautivante en cambio está en las formas en que el territorio y los personajes se imbrican, en la prosa sencilla pero efectiva, en las voces tan definidas que tienen estos personajes. Incluso cuando la tecnología hace su aparición (pienso en el celular de la amante en "Trucha panza arriba), da la sensación de estar viajando en el tiempo, de llegar a lugares recónditos donde el tiempo se detuvo, y de tener la posibilidad de habitarlos a través de estas breves cápsulas narrativas. Una experiencia de lectura delicada y valorable.
Me encantó que cada cuento fuese una entidad independiente pero que a la vez se colaran personajes repetidos, en particular el señor Henrik, su hermano Mati, y su hijastro Andrés. Aunque estos personajes son claramente de clase alta, varios de los cuentos se centran en una población rural y pobre, filtrada en mayor o menor medida por estos personajes de clase alta a quienes les relatan sus historias. El resultado es bastante potente, pues las miradas parecen potenciarse y construir un relato más completo. De hecho, el cuento final "Henrik", que carece de la perspectiva más "de pueblo" y parece centrarse casi del todo en los problemas financieros de Henrik, me resultó el más aburrido. Aunque también puede tener que ver con el tema, y la forma en que se esbozaba sin nunca desarrollarse el conflicto. En cambio, los que más me emocionaron fueron los que lidiaban con animales en una forma u otra: el que da su título al libro, el de la vaca Perla, el del perro Güisqui.
En su mayoría, las tramas de estas historias son simples. Por ejemplo, "Trucha panza arriba" es la historia de un marido infiel sin demasiadas vueltas, complejidades, ni siquiera una resolución tan definida. Lo cautivante en cambio está en las formas en que el territorio y los personajes se imbrican, en la prosa sencilla pero efectiva, en las voces tan definidas que tienen estos personajes. Incluso cuando la tecnología hace su aparición (pienso en el celular de la amante en "Trucha panza arriba), da la sensación de estar viajando en el tiempo, de llegar a lugares recónditos donde el tiempo se detuvo, y de tener la posibilidad de habitarlos a través de estas breves cápsulas narrativas. Una experiencia de lectura delicada y valorable.
January 19, 2020
I don’t know what it is about short stories. It always feels like they are a glimpse through a door that’s ajar, you can see a good amount of detail, but there’s a whole lot more that you can’t see, and it always feels a bit sinister for that unknown, more so because you know that it’s there. It doesn’t matter what the short story is about, I’m left with that feeling at the end, probably I’m just weird.
A series of short stories, beginning at Don Henrik’s improbably trout farm up a mountain, but ultimately being about Don Henrik himself, Trout Belly Up left me feeling weird.
Starting with a farm hand on the Trout farm itself, who seemingly throws away his wife and children for a cute girl in the shop, to Mati and his quest for a lost dog and integrating himself into a family he has become estranged from, to visits from unsavoury characters and being protected by a cow, the stories tell of Don Henrik’s life and struggle as a good man trying to make an honest living farming in Guatemala.
The stories are simple yet wonderfully told, and contain simple pleasures as well as crude gruesome violence, that never seems to be far away, no matter how idyllic the surface appears at times. By crafting short stories there are a number of different narrators, that give the stories their own unique feel, while all the same still forming a recognisable whole.
What I definitely do love about this book though is that it has introduced to me to Charco Press, an independent publisher that specialises in Latin American writers, and I will definitely be working my way through their catalogue, plus any more from Rodrigo Fuentes in the future.
(blog review here)
A series of short stories, beginning at Don Henrik’s improbably trout farm up a mountain, but ultimately being about Don Henrik himself, Trout Belly Up left me feeling weird.
Starting with a farm hand on the Trout farm itself, who seemingly throws away his wife and children for a cute girl in the shop, to Mati and his quest for a lost dog and integrating himself into a family he has become estranged from, to visits from unsavoury characters and being protected by a cow, the stories tell of Don Henrik’s life and struggle as a good man trying to make an honest living farming in Guatemala.
The stories are simple yet wonderfully told, and contain simple pleasures as well as crude gruesome violence, that never seems to be far away, no matter how idyllic the surface appears at times. By crafting short stories there are a number of different narrators, that give the stories their own unique feel, while all the same still forming a recognisable whole.
What I definitely do love about this book though is that it has introduced to me to Charco Press, an independent publisher that specialises in Latin American writers, and I will definitely be working my way through their catalogue, plus any more from Rodrigo Fuentes in the future.
(blog review here)
March 22, 2019
Los siete cuentos de este libro dan cuenta de los límites y las confluencias de las condiciones de vida urbana y rural centroamericana. Las historias se tejen alrededor del problema de la tierra, el despojo y de los terratenientes en decadencia. A medida que se va avanzando se construye la figura de Henrik un patriarca que va perdiendo su vigencia como figura de poder en el territorio. A través de las voces de sus trabajadores e hijos el personaje va adquiriendo diversas dimensiones por las que se puede entrever problemas locales latinoamericanos que tienen una trascendencia universal. Fuentes retoma temas de los grandes escritores del siglo XX, la literatura del boom, para darles continuidad desde su propio lenguaje dándole a cada relato un registro particular que les da actualidad. Dos relatos "Buceo" y "Güisqui", sirven de intermezzo para dar cuenta de un entorno urbano trágico que padece una escisión con la naturaleza, para el caso un drogadicto en rehabilitación, un alcohólico, una niña y un perro. En el relato final aparece Henrik resistiéndose como un viejo cowboy a las nuevas condiciones que afectan su entorno.
La composición del lenguaje literario apela a la naturalidad del lenguaje que captura el color local del entorno donde ocurren las acciones, evitando cualquier giro barroco. Fuentes se perfila como un narrador esencial en su tentativa de narrar una realidad que supera la ficción trazando un puentes entre el realismo mágico de García Márquez y el realismo visceral de Roberto Bolaño.
La composición del lenguaje literario apela a la naturalidad del lenguaje que captura el color local del entorno donde ocurren las acciones, evitando cualquier giro barroco. Fuentes se perfila como un narrador esencial en su tentativa de narrar una realidad que supera la ficción trazando un puentes entre el realismo mágico de García Márquez y el realismo visceral de Roberto Bolaño.
July 2, 2019
Es una novela que se camufla de manera perfecta en 7 cuentos. Henrik parece ser el personaje principal, al cual le acontece todas las desgracias posibles: partiendo de una bancarrota, un segundo matrimonio que no funciona y un hijo que escoge el peor camino para aventurarse en la vida. Una novela que acontece en el campo guatemalteco pero que tiene una perfecta sincronía con lo latinoamericano. Se devora al entrar en su primer cuento que da nombre al libro, para ir desentrañando una historia que contiene todo el acontecer de los personajes desde el terrateniente hasta el más humilde de sus campesinos. Atrapa, y quieres saber qué ocurre con todos los personajes aquí presentados. Excelente historia para un fin de semana cualquiera.
(...) “Esto de la familia es complicado, le respondí a don Henrik. Acaba de preguntarme por Ermiña, que fue mi prima, luego mi enamorada y ahora es mi mujer. Es que es difícil encontrar a una mujer como Emiña en la montaña” “Así que solos no estamos, pero lo cierto es que solo nos sentimos.” “Le parecieron más feas de lo que pensaba, hogares de incautos como él, convencidos de que iban para arriba a pesar de encontrarse en pleno hundimiento.” “Subíamos la montaña en el jeep cuando Henrik me dijo que a las mujeres había que darle placer. [...] Henrik llevaba tres años de relación con mi madre y nunca habíamos hablado de mujeres, y mucho menos de placer. [...] Sin placer se acaba la relación, me dijo Henrik, el placer es básico o se muere todo.” (...)
(...) “Esto de la familia es complicado, le respondí a don Henrik. Acaba de preguntarme por Ermiña, que fue mi prima, luego mi enamorada y ahora es mi mujer. Es que es difícil encontrar a una mujer como Emiña en la montaña” “Así que solos no estamos, pero lo cierto es que solo nos sentimos.” “Le parecieron más feas de lo que pensaba, hogares de incautos como él, convencidos de que iban para arriba a pesar de encontrarse en pleno hundimiento.” “Subíamos la montaña en el jeep cuando Henrik me dijo que a las mujeres había que darle placer. [...] Henrik llevaba tres años de relación con mi madre y nunca habíamos hablado de mujeres, y mucho menos de placer. [...] Sin placer se acaba la relación, me dijo Henrik, el placer es básico o se muere todo.” (...)
July 18, 2021
Trout, Belly Up is a collection of six interconnected short stories mostly (but not exclusively) following a farming landowner named Henrik, who faces constant bad luck.
It is no surprise that I love a short story collection, and I do think that Latin American authors (and Charco Press) really excel in the discipline. This collection is short, with the shortest story being only four pages long, and the longest being 30 pages. However, it is by no means lacking in content. In Trout, Belly Up, Fuentes paints a detailed picture of the beautiful Guatemalan countryside, which starkly contrasts with the subject matter of the stories. We read about a range of social issues and their violent impact on characters, representing some of the very real problems faced by Guatemalans. For example, the stories range from discussions of addiction, to the pressure on landowners when their workers strike or they’re forced to sell up. The character of Henrik, an unlucky man just trying to make a career for himself, is the connection between the stories and reading about his troubles, I can imagine, offers a real insight into the problems Guatemalan farmers routinely face.
I found the prose to be simple, which I thought to be exceptionally powerful in drawing attention to the content of the book. It’s a no bullshit, real collection which lays bare the ever-present violence in Guatemala, and it’s situation against an idyllic landscape. My favourite stories were Out of the Blue, Perla (about a cow who dreams of being a dog🥺) and Whisky (about addiction). So sad I haven’t seen this book more because I thought it was great!
It is no surprise that I love a short story collection, and I do think that Latin American authors (and Charco Press) really excel in the discipline. This collection is short, with the shortest story being only four pages long, and the longest being 30 pages. However, it is by no means lacking in content. In Trout, Belly Up, Fuentes paints a detailed picture of the beautiful Guatemalan countryside, which starkly contrasts with the subject matter of the stories. We read about a range of social issues and their violent impact on characters, representing some of the very real problems faced by Guatemalans. For example, the stories range from discussions of addiction, to the pressure on landowners when their workers strike or they’re forced to sell up. The character of Henrik, an unlucky man just trying to make a career for himself, is the connection between the stories and reading about his troubles, I can imagine, offers a real insight into the problems Guatemalan farmers routinely face.
I found the prose to be simple, which I thought to be exceptionally powerful in drawing attention to the content of the book. It’s a no bullshit, real collection which lays bare the ever-present violence in Guatemala, and it’s situation against an idyllic landscape. My favourite stories were Out of the Blue, Perla (about a cow who dreams of being a dog🥺) and Whisky (about addiction). So sad I haven’t seen this book more because I thought it was great!
August 2, 2022
This slim volume of lightly interlinked stories is all mood. That's what I'm mostly left with. The air of lawlessness. The air of wildness. The hard work of laborers beating beneath the surface of the collection. The conspiracies between workers, between owners and cabals organized to undermine them.
Every story adds a bit of gauze over the setting, the reality of the characters within. A little alcohol bleary, a little sweaty and paranoid, a little bit of premonition of shit about to hit the fan, bit by bit the reader just sort of... feels. Feels the people of the Guatemala our author is painting. The struggle, the land, the sadness, the fear, but also simple happiness. Each story is its own painting, but I feel like, as the tension builds in the final story, the lingering feeling is of a whole greater than the book's 100 pages.
Let's call this a 3.75? Is it absurd to go into quarter ratings when we don't even have halves?
Every story adds a bit of gauze over the setting, the reality of the characters within. A little alcohol bleary, a little sweaty and paranoid, a little bit of premonition of shit about to hit the fan, bit by bit the reader just sort of... feels. Feels the people of the Guatemala our author is painting. The struggle, the land, the sadness, the fear, but also simple happiness. Each story is its own painting, but I feel like, as the tension builds in the final story, the lingering feeling is of a whole greater than the book's 100 pages.
Let's call this a 3.75? Is it absurd to go into quarter ratings when we don't even have halves?
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