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The Mutations

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A modern-day Flaubert takes us on a comic tour through a deeply neurotic Mexico City

Ramón Martinez is a militant atheist, successful lawyer, and conventional family man. But all of that changes when his privileged life disintegrates after cancer of the tongue deprives him of the source of his power and livelihood: speech.

Jorge Comensal's The Mutations is a comedy tracing the metastasis of Ramón's cancer through his body and through the lives of his family members, colleagues, and doctors, dissecting the experience of illness and mapping the relationships both strengthened and frayed in its wake. Mateo and Paulina, his teenage children, struggle with the temptations of masturbation and binge-eating, respectively. Ramón's melancholic oncologist is haunted by the memory of a young patient whom he was unable to save. His selfish pathologist believes Ramón's tumor holds the key to a major scientific breakthrough. And then Elodia, Ramón's pious maid, brings him a foul-mouthed parrot as a birthday gift, and this filthy bird becomes Ramón's companion, confidant, and unlikely double.

Paying homage to forebears such as Sontag, Didion, Flaubert, and Tolstoy, and filled with a rough-hewn poetry of regret, rage, and, finally, resignation, The Mutations offers up a profound and funny cross section of modern Mexico, as well as a bold treatment of an unspeakable yet universal reality.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 20, 2016

44 people are currently reading
2450 people want to read

About the author

Jorge Comensal

11 books51 followers
Jorge Comensal estudió Lengua y Literaturas Hispánicas en la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.1​ Fue becario de la Fundación para las Letras Mexicanas.

En 2016, publicó su primera novela, Las Mutaciones con la editorial Antílope. El libro aborda con humor el tema del cáncer, enfermedad que el autor ha vivido de cerca debido a varios casos en su familia.

En su elaboración, Comensal consultó libros y artículos sobre medicina, genética, evolución, oncología y otros temas para documentar los aspectos científicos de la enfermedad tratados en la novela.
Por ello, en esta narración pueden encontrarse diversos registros conviviendo en un lenguaje desgranado con belleza.

El libro fue publicado en España tres años después a través de la editorial Seix Barral.

En 2017, Comensal publicó el ensayo Yonquis de las letras.

En 2022 se publica Este vacío que hierve, su segunda novela.

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503 (44%)
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301 (26%)
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55 (4%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews
Profile Image for ♑︎♑︎♑︎ ♑︎♑︎♑︎.
Author 1 book3,803 followers
February 2, 2020
Finally Teresa was experiencing...one of those unlikely moments that saved her life from absurdity.

This is a hard novel to pay attention to, to the level it demands to be paid attention to, and yet it rewards your attention absolutely. On a sentence level it's beautiful. On a story level it's fragmentary, snatching you away again and again from a story line you want to stay in and leaping away into another scene, other characters. Thematically it tackles a fundamental question in life: how a person faces death, and makes sense of his/her own mortality. It's a brave book because Comensal never allows the least bit of romanticization, or faith in the world to come, or any other thing to distract the reader from the fragmentary, absurd way we humans go about dying. A tough, rewarding read.
Profile Image for Eylül Görmüş.
756 reviews4,698 followers
June 27, 2023
Lütfen asalım bayrakları, yeni bir Alejandro Zambramız var! Tek kitapla bunu ilan etmekten çekinirim normalde ama gerçekten aynı lezzet, aynı kara mizah, aynı zenginlik! Kaldı ki bizzat Zambra şunları demişken, ben ilan etmişim etmemişim ne fark eder? "Mutasyonlar muhteşem bir roman, trajik olduğu kadar da komik, çağdaş olduğu kadar da klasik ve hepsinin ötesinde unutulması imkânsız. Okuduktan sonra Jorge Comensal’ın okuyacağım başka romanları da olsa keşke diyeceksiniz; ama bu ilk romanı olduğundan sıradaki muhteşem kitabı tamamlanana kadar sabırla bekleyeceğiz artık." ❤️

Meksikalı yazar Jorge Comensal'ın ilk romanı Mutasyonlar gerçekten müthiş lezzetli. Aslında benim için okuması zor bir konusu olmasına rağmen (kanser ve ölüm) öyle güzel anlatılmış ki hikaye, insan kapılıp gidiyor. İnsan ölümle nasıl yüzleşir gibi trajik bir soruya cevap arıyor yazar, bunu yaparken en acı, en zor anlara bile sinmiş olan absürtlükleri bulup çıkarıyor; öyle ki yer yer kahkahalar attım. (Zaten asıl absürtlük bizzat başlangıçta: bir küçük hücrenin aykırı davranmaya karar vermesiyle oluşmuş ve öldürücü sonuçlar doğuran o mutasyonun nüvesindeki absürtlüğe bakmamızı istiyor yazar.) Ama bir yandan da hikayenin içine yedirdiği psikanaliz seanslarıyla derinleştiriyor metnini, doyurulamamış arzuların beslediği ölüm korkusunu, insanın kendi bedenine yabancılaşmasını, vedalaşmanın biçimlerini didikliyor.

Kahramanımız Ramon Martinez'in dilinde tespit edilen tümör nedeniyle dilinin alınması ve konuşma yetisini kaybetmesi ile gelişen olayların anlatıldığı metin, bu konuşma yetisini yitirme meselesi üzerinden dil ve anlatma konusuna da kafa yoruyor. Hayatını konuşarak kazanan bir avukat olan Martinez, en değerli becerisini yitirince pek çok şeyle yüzleşmek zorunda kalıyor. Aynı şekilde, psikanalizin en temel gereci olan dili ve diyaloğu kullanamadığımız durumda, terapi nasıl mümkün olabilir sorusuna dair de düşündürtüyor yazar.

Görünenlerin altında da kimlik, orta sınıfın değer yargıları ve erkekliğe dair bir dolu katman var. Ezcümle ben bayıldım. 29 yaşında yazılmış bir ilk roman olduğu düşünülünce hele ayrıca müthiş. Seni izleyeceğim Comensal, inandım ben sana. 🤍
Profile Image for julieta.
1,332 reviews42.5k followers
September 16, 2018
Empecé pensando que quizás el tono no me fascinaba, algo ceremonioso, o demasiado solemne. Lo pensé al principio, me parecía un poco plano, pero la verdad es que fue tomando forma. Tiene muchos elementos, empezando por la enfermedad, el cáncer, para ser precisos, y se va hacia distintas cosas, hacia el psicoanálisis, hacia la familia, y tiene momentos graciosos. Está muy bien pensada y escrita, y eso que sentí al principio fue equivocado. Sí es un libro serio, pero desarrolla super bien todos los hilos. Me gusta el personaje de la analista, y algunas situaciones están bastante buenas, el loro y la criada y todo eso. Me intriga leer algo más de Comensal. Y hasta hay lugar para personajes no tan buena onda, pero que pueden caer simpáticos, como el hermano del protagonista, que es un tipo medio mala onda, pero tienen su complejidad, no son personajes planos ni simples. ¿Qué onda con este escritor? no se absolutamente nada más que este libro que me recomendó un amigo, y que me alegro de haberle hecho caso.
Profile Image for Hulyacln.
987 reviews567 followers
July 18, 2023
Pek sevdiğim Alejandro Zambra, Mutasyonlar için şöyle diyor : ‘Okuduktan sonra Jorge Comensal’ın okuyacağım başka romanları da olsa keşke diyeceksiniz; ama bu ilk romanı olduğundan sıradaki muhteşem kitabı tamamlanana kadar sabırla bekleyeceğiz artık.’
Hakkında bu yorumu okuduğum bir kitaba büyük bir beklenti ile başladım elbet. Ki beklentim de fazlasıyla yerini buldu.
Tümör nedeniyle dilini aldıran bir avukat, bu hastalıkla aniden hayatları değişen ailesi, evin sadık yardımcısı ve bu haneye sonradan eklenen, dili baharatlı papağan Benito~
Tabii bir de danışanlarına marihuana öneren psikanalist Teresa var~
Ölümün nihai eylemimiz olduğunu bilmemiz onu soğukkanlılık ile beklemek anlamına gelmiyor. Belki de hep bir umuda sarılıyoruzdur, daha geç olacağını düşünmeye başlıyoruzdur. Ramon da konuşma yetisini kaybettiğinde hazırlıklarına başlıyor, ‘benden sonrası’na.
.
Jorge Comensal öyle çok şeye değiniyor ki! Kayıplar, korkular, eşitsizlikler, sabır ve sükunet.. Çok sevdim Mutasyonları..
.
Nergis Gürcihan, Efecan Sezer kapak tasarımıyla ~
Profile Image for Lauren .
1,834 reviews2,550 followers
January 19, 2024
// The comedy in tragedy //

Comensal's short novel explores the weightiest of matters (cancer) through the lives of three people in modern Mexico City: Rámon, recently diagnosed with aggressive mouth cancer, Teresa, a breast cancer survivor who counsels other cancer patients, and Dr. Aldama, an oncologist more caught up on getting his work published and honored over patient care.

Rámon's cancer progresses so quickly that he must have his tongue removed and immediately begin chemotherapy and radiation. A wealthy successful attorney becomes ill, mute, and indebted in a matter of weeks, and his family (his wife, 2 teenage children, a live-in housekeeper, and his brother) all take part in his care. We see the effects on the entire family and Rámon's frustrations and grief over what he has lost so quickly. Elodia, his housekeeper, decides to buy him a parrot in a kind of absurd "you can't talk, so he'll be your voice" conciliation, and Benito the Parrot begins to spew obscenities and curses. Rámon sees Benito as the only one who truly understands him.

Teresa's chapters introduce some of her other therapy patients, primarily centering a young man who had childhood leukemia and developed OCD and germaphobia. Teresa begins to work with Rámon and his wife later in the book, supplying him with cannabis that she grows in her basement to give to her clientele. Teresa's chapters are conveyed through her own therapy sessions, as she talks about her work with her clients and her role in provide clarity and calm through both cannabis and therapy. As Teresa begins treating Rámon, she finds online chatting while in the same room on respective laptops the best way to "read" him, seeing his words and his body language at the same time.
He's detached from his body, like a monk taking a vow of silence. The Buddhists, the Carthusians, the Trappists. Silence distances you from the flesh. Don't you think it's a paradox that something as invisible as speech should be precisely what keeps us tied to the body?

Dr. Aldama's chapters are often much shorter and more technical. He is fascinated by Rámon's rare tongue cancer and plans to publish the work in top journals... but he can't get his colleagues on board. His chapters include a lot of brainstorming and philosophy, often while he is in public spaces, or daydreaming while he is at a friend's wedding.
What surprised him was stepping out on the street and seeing so many healthy people. Good health wasn't a state of peace and harmony with the environment... it was quite the opposite - a fleeting victory over chaos, a balancing act on a tightrope stretched over an abyss of turmoil. The 'health' touted on TV was the opium of a century of narcissists, an effective illusion for marketing vitamins, salads, and activewear, but useless for understanding the body's relationship to the world... Thirty-seven trillion cells, for instance, answered to the name of Rámon Martinez, and among them lived a band of renegades...

THE MUTATIONS is an emotional ride looking at the absurdities of life and death, the ways we try to placate/sooth ourselves in crisis, the desire for care, compassion, and understanding, and how we ultimately exit the world and are remembered by those we've left.
Profile Image for Federico Escobar Sierra.
302 reviews118 followers
October 15, 2020
Divertido. Tal vez mucho para la historia que cuenta.

La muerte de Ramón acechando. Él ajustando lo pendiente. En su familia, cada quien en una lectura muy propia de la situación. Y la maravillosa Elodia, dándole al libro lo más cómico, lo mas humano y lo más hermoso.
Profile Image for Alvaro Lara Huerta.
46 reviews3 followers
December 11, 2017
Me ha sorprendido gratamente. Humor, ciencia, drama se mezclan para hacer un magistral texto sobre la enfermedad, la vida y la muerte (el miedo). Lo recomiendo ampliamente.
Profile Image for dianne b..
699 reviews178 followers
November 30, 2025
A boisterously imagined novel, filled with riotous paragraphs and transformative moments.
Just superb.

Ramón Martinez is at the peak of his career, happily married, two kids - so sure of himself he doesn’t even have insurance! Because, hell, why? Shiny people like us don’t need that silly stuff.

Unfortunately, like so many, this man was to find out that he was being silently betrayed by a tiny alteration in a few of his own cells, a subversive, maverick mutant that slipped through his immune guard and grew into a rebellious tumor. In Ramón’s case a sneaky, incredibly creative tongue tumor. “Thirty-seven trillion cells, for instance, answered to the name of Ramón Martinez, and among them lived a band of renegades…”

But this book is not all about that.
There’s family! Ramón’s cherished children, for instance:
“While Mateo attempted, as far as his innate idleness allowed, to pass the four classes he usually failed - math, chemistry, physics, and history - Paulina aspired to crush her only rival, the arrogant and diminutive Jesús Galindo. Focused on achieving their academic goals without forsaking their respective hobbies of masturbation and karaoke, Mateo and Paulina were oblivious to their parents’ suffering.”

Then there’s the Freudian therapist Teresa, specializing in cancer patients and a survivor herself, whose convoluted theories about her patient’s illnesses and symptoms may have been made all the more confused by her own therapist. It seems the most therapeutic intervention she delivers is her high quality, homegrown and illegal marijuana edibles, served as cookies, to her dying patients.

When asked if she actually listens to her patients she admits she doesn’t because she’s too busy trying to:
“interpret the underlying messages, trying to connect what the patients says to what they’ve said before, or to what Freud wrote in such and such a book, or to whatever I happen to be studying at the time. What I mean is I analyze my patients without listening to them…It’s like I’m interrupting them the whole time in my head…”

Which made me wonder: why have them, or you, Teresa, involved at all? I mean, these are people with limited lifespans, very precious time…

Teresa particularly likes Ramón, who cannot talk, as he is sans tongue. This made Teresa’s therapist wonder:
“Is it possible that his silence has somehow seduced you, and prevented you from being disappointed by what he might otherwise be saying?”

This made me think: how much more seductive would men be - in general - if they were silent?

There are so many other delightful characters, Ramón’s despicable brother Ernesto, the devoted and pious housekeeper Elodia who gave Ramón Benito the scatological parrot (we all need one) and Joaquín Aldama, the retirement adjacent oncologist who dreams of making a final splash by attaching himself to a genetically remarkable tumor he doesn’t quite understand.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Aldama’s flights of fancy as he (a devout Catholic) sat uncomfortably through a Catholic wedding and dissected the flaws of “healings” described in Bible stories in his lofty thoughts, in a most curmudgeonly way. I mean really, Most Heavenly Father, Creator of Us All, he seemed to be thinking, it couldn't possibly have happened that way.
How do Great Men of Science reconcile their personal mythologies?
What a colossal noise must be made when two absolute truths collide.
Bless his (always-white-coated) heart.

A wonderful book.
Profile Image for Maria Sylvia Velázquez.
65 reviews7 followers
September 13, 2022

Ramón, el personaje principal, descubre al inicio de la novela que tiene cáncer en la lengua. Jorge Comensal trata el tema y te sumerge con su escritura de una manera ágil, real, divertida y profundamente humana. Con toda la problemática que puede conllevar una situación tal. Por cierto, amé al perico!

Coincido por completo con Guadalupe Nettel: “Afilado, divertidísimo y, sin embargo, sensible. Una primera novela impresionante.”
¡Gracias Ale por la recomendación!
Profile Image for Alena.
1,059 reviews316 followers
March 24, 2020
This was a very unusual little book. I don't know if maybe something was lost in the translation, but I didn't find much of the humor that the book blurb promised. I found the absurd for sure but it just didn't work for me.
Profile Image for Milly Cohen.
1,438 reviews505 followers
December 25, 2018
Aunque le tengo mucho respeto a las novelas humorísticas (siempre tengo miedo de perderme el hilo o no reírme lo que merecen) me gusta muchísimo ésta porque va en la línea de lo que yo estudio y propongo: reírnos de la desgracia. Solo a Comensal se le ocurre atar varias vidas y hacernos sufrir y reír con el cancer de por medio. Bravo. La portada, ademas, me fascina.
Profile Image for Alf Bojórquez.
148 reviews12 followers
October 9, 2023
Retrata México y su clase media desde un lugar racional, un poco cientificista. Realismo al estio literatura mexicana, tiene momentos graciosos. Es una novela ingeniosa, el autor tiene talento y escribe desde un lugar extraño, como si pasara por encima de las cosas y la sociedad y la ansiedad, en vez de entrar a ellas. Se burla de los lugares comunes nacionales.
Profile Image for Liliana Blum.
Author 34 books1,429 followers
May 16, 2019
Una novela excelentemente bien escrita y a la vez, hermosa.
Profile Image for Juan Araizaga.
832 reviews144 followers
October 3, 2020
3 días y 204 páginas después. El primer libro que leo del autor, y que fue un préstamo de un colega de los libros.

No sabía que esperar acerca del libro, tanto que no quise leer la sinopsis. Solo lo leí y ya.

La primera parte es bastante ágil, pero después de las cien páginas lo sentí un poco más lento. Mezclar dos historias distintas me agrada bastante, pero en esta ocasión es un poco confuso. Y aunque sí se tocan, siento que tenía más potencial.

La historia es bastante mexicana: un loro vulgar, una señora del aseo, y una familia mejicana, me hizo sentir muy cómodo. El gran problema es un final tan precipitado, qué, no le hace justicia a esta gran historia. Creo que había mucho de dónde cortar, pero el autor se lo quedó con ganas de no aburrir al lector. Cosa que puede funcionar, pero en este caso la historia es tan amena que da para explayarse.

Tomando como base la enfermedad del siglo XXI, todo es posible.

Probablemente habrá reseña.
Profile Image for Readaholic_gr.
77 reviews50 followers
September 16, 2025
Το βιβλίο μιλά για τις ασθένειες, συγκεκριμένα για τον καρκίνο. Μιλά για την απώλεια, για τις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις και πώς αυτές μεταβάλλονται όταν η σκιά του καρκίνου βρίσκεται μονίμως σε επιφυλακή. Όμως επιλέγει το χιούμορ και την ακριβώς επόμενη στιγμή την ένταση. Θα περιγράψει μια ευάλωτη σκηνή και μετά θα το γυρίσει ξανά στο γέλιο γιατί ούτε τον θυμό τον θέλουμε σε τέτοιες στιγμές.

Θεωρώ πολύ σημαντικό το ότι επέλεξε ο ήρωάς του να χάσει τον λόγο του. Ο καρκίνος στην γλώσσα ο οποίος σου αφαιρεί ένα κομμάτι του εαυτού σου μετά από 50 χρόνια ζωής, παρουσιάζεται για να σε κάνει να αναρωτηθείς πώς θα συνεχίσει η πορεία σου και η σχέση σου με τους άλλους όταν έχεις χάσει τον τρόπο που εκφράζεσαι.

Το βιβλίο είναι μόλις 200 σελίδες και έχει καταφέρει να αγγίξει ζητήματα που και 4 αναρτήσεις να κάνουμε δεν θα φανούν.

Υπήρξα διστακτική στην αρχή. Αυτή η απόσταση που μου δημιουργούσε ήταν κάτι που δεν μου άρεσε. Όμως κατάλαβα πως οι ιστορίες των πρωταγωνιστών λειτουργούν ως καθρέφτες. Βλέπω σε εκείνους όσα βλέπω και σε εμένα μέχρι να μάθω ότι όλα μπορούν να ανατραπούν. Υγεία, ευτυχία, επιτυχία που μπορεί να καταλήξουν σε φοβίες, αποτυχίες, αποξένωση από το σώμα και την ίδια μου την ύπαρξη.

Δεν είναι εύκολο βιβλίο κι ας έχει έντονο (μαύρο) χιούμορ.
Αξίζει όμως να διαβαστεί γιατί όσα περιγράφει δυστυχώς δεν είναι απίθανο να μας αφορούν είτε τώρα, είτε μελλοντικά.
Profile Image for Christian Bistriceanu.
Author 3 books146 followers
December 27, 2024
O carte plăcută în ciuda subiectului (lupta cu cancerul și modul în care acesta schimbă modul nostru de a fi și a vedea lumea). Jorge Comensal desfășoară acțiunea între ironie și grotesc urmărind trei personaje a căror viață se întretaie din cauza cancerului: Ramón Martínez, avocat ce suferă de cancer al limbii, Aldama, oncolog meloman care dorește să devină recunoscut la nivel internațional prin descoperirile sale, și Teresa, psihoterapeut neconvențional, supraviețuitoare a luptei cu cancerul cultivatoare de canabisul și promotoare a tratamentului cu marijuana.
Celor trei le vom urmări speranțele, gândurile, evoluția și ratarea într-o societate consumista în care a te trata costă mai mult decât bani. O exploatarea a sentimentului de empatie și compasiune în timpurile noastre.
O carte care poate aduce aminte de Moartea lui Ivan Ilich.
Profile Image for José Miguel Tomasena.
Author 18 books542 followers
January 9, 2020
Una muy divertida y conmovedora novela. Una voz aguda y original, capaz de tratar lo trágico con gran sentido del humor.
Ésta es una comedia sobre el cáncer.
Gran capacidad para parodiar la jerga psicoanalítica y médica.
En la tradición de Ibargüengoitia, Ortuño y Villalobos.
Profile Image for Melek .
411 reviews13 followers
February 25, 2024
Çok severek okuduğum bir kitap oldu Mutasyonlar. Engellilik, hastalık, değişen roller ve hayat konusunu çok gerçekçi ve çok yönlü olarak anlatmış.
Terapist Teresa ve Eduardo kısımlarını çok gerçekçi ve keyifli buldum.
Herkese tavsiye ederim kitabı.

Tek eksik bulduğum yan kitabın daha uzun yazılmamış olması oldu. Karakterleri daha çok okumak isterdim.
Profile Image for Claudia Vázquez del Mercado.
88 reviews18 followers
February 21, 2020
Jorge Comensal trata el tema y te sumerge en su escritura de una manera ágil, real, divertida y profundamente humana. Entrañables personajes. Ale gracias por la recomendación a su lectura.
Profile Image for Elizabeth☮ .
1,818 reviews14 followers
July 30, 2024
Ramon is diagnosed with cancer. His surgery leaves him without a tongue. Learning to live with his new reality becomes increasingly difficult.

A thought provoking story about illness and how it affects a family. Also an interesting account of how a person wants autonomy and dignity when dealing with a deadly disease.
Profile Image for Ayse Dilsad Cetin Ozyurt.
196 reviews16 followers
August 14, 2023
Bir mutasyonun yarattığı sorunlarla boğuşurken mükemmel bir kitap okudum. Hem akıcı hem de kullanılan tekniklere hayran oldum. Kitabı @eylulgormus ‘ün sayfasında görmüştüm. Alejandro Zambra’nın arka kapak yazısını okuyunca da önceliğe aldım.

Anlatıda mutasyon olarak vurgulanan konu kanser. Konuşarak para kazanan, avukat olan ana kahramanın diline yerleşen ve hatta akciğerine metastaz yapan tümör nedeniyle bir anda sessizleşmek zorunda kalması ve Jorge Comensal’ın bu sessizliği harika bir kurguyla anlatabilmesi bence bu kitabın mucizesi.

İçinde psikoloji, tıp ve edebiyata dair çok örnek var. Kitabın son bölümünde metni çok iyi analiz etmiş iki ayrı yazı da mevcut. O nedenle benim tekrar etmeme gerek yok.

Bugünlerde sıklıkla pekiştirdiğim bir cümleyle kitapta karşılaşmak da cabası oldu. Ya ben ermişlik mertebesine doğru hızla yol alıyorum ya da bu ara fazla yüklendi hayat:

“Doktorluk henüz tam olgunlaşmamış, büyük ölçüde sezgisel, kusursuz sonuç vermesinin beklenmeyeceği bir meslekti.”

Eylül Görmüş’e tavsiyesi için, Meksikalı yazar Jorge Comensal’a kurgusu, üslubu ve dili için, Nergis Gürcihan’a çevirisi için, @bilgiyayinevi ‘ne metni bizimle buluşturduğu için çok teşekkürler.

Mutlaka okuyun, ben çok sevdim.

5/5

#kitapeniyiarkadastir
Profile Image for Konan Mory.
346 reviews13 followers
June 10, 2024
يصاب المحامي رامون قبل بلوغه سن الخمسين بقليل بسرطان نادر في اللسان مما يستدعي استئصاله كاملاً .
هذا الحدث يزلزل كيان العائلة، تضطر الزوجة للعودة للمحاماة بعد فترة طويلة من عدم ممارسة المهنة لإدارة مكتب المحاماة الذي يملكه زوجها دون أن تملك خبرته ولا شطارته لكسب بعض النقود لكن الأمر لايفلح فيلجأان للاستدانة من شقيقه الذي يصر على رهن بيتهم مقابل النقود.
تتغير أحوال رامون مع العلاج الكيميائي والاكتئاب وتبدأ رحلته مع العلاج النفسي عند تيريزا التي هي نفسها كانت ناجية من سرطان الثدي وبسببه تخصصت في العلاج النفسي لمرضى السرطان.
تهديه إلوديا الخادمة ببغاء منتوف الريش يسميه بينيتو ويصبح أقرب إليه من أي شخص في العائلة، تكون المفارقة الأولى أن الببغاء يستطيع التفوه بكلمات بينما هو لا يستطيع.
نتابع رحلة رامون مع المرض ومحاولات الأطباء علاجه، وكسب بحث علمي جديد عن الطفرة التي أدت أن يصاب رامون بهذا السرطان الذي يصيب الأطفال، نتابع صراعه النفسي للتأقلم مع المرض وأعراضه إذ لم تقتصر معاناة رامون مع استئصال لسانه على حرمانه من الكلام الذي أدى لفقدانه لعمله الذي يعتمد على الكلمة وقد كان محامياً قوياً لامعاً محباً لعمله فكيف يصدق أنه هو نفسه هذا الضعيف الذي لايقدر على الكلام ، بل لم يعد يستطيع البلع ولا تحريك اللقم ولا التمتع بالطعام أو تذوقه.
لم يعد يستطيع التعبير عن غضبه، ولا مجاراة الآخرين بنقاش أو حوار أو قصة ، ماهي إلا جمل متفرقة يكتبها على ورقة ليبوح بما يريد باختصار .
كيف كان رب أسرة يحمي أفرادها ويؤمن لهم احتياجاتهم الحياتية وكيف أضحى عبئاً ثقيلاً ، مادياً ومعنوياً
فكيف سينتهي أمر رامون ؟.
رواية مؤلمة جداً لكنها مهمة وملهمة ، نتعرف فيها على معلومات طبية كثيرة، و معلومات تاريخية وسياسية عن المكسيك، ومعلومات موسيقية وفلسفية ومعلومات في التحليل النفسي..

ملاحظة : كان الدور النسوي إيجابياً من الخادمة للزوجة للابنة للمعالجة النفسية تيريزا ، بينما كان الدور الرجولي سلبياً من الأخ عديم الشفقة ، للابن الذي ظل طوال الرواية واضعاً السماعات في أذنيه منفصلاً عن كل ما يدور حوله، ( حين طالبت الابنة أمها بجعل أخيها يأخذ دوراً أكبر في العناية بالأب دافعت عنه بحجة عدم كفاءة الرجال العاطفية في هذا المجال) لزوج إلوديا ، حتى الأطباء الرجال لم يكن ما يحركهم التعاطف مع المرضى وإنما البحث الجديد والطمع بنوبل ، وحتى الرغبة الجنسية.

💥خورخيه كومنسال كاتبٌ مكسيكي من مواليد عام 1987، حاز منحة معهد الآداب المكسيكي والصندوق الوطني للثقافة والفنون، درَس الأدب الإسباني واللغة وعلوم الفلسفة، وعمِل محررًا لمجلة جامعة المكسيك، أصدر بحثًا عنوانه "مدمنو اللغة" في عام 2017. تُرجمت روايته "الطفرات"، الصادرة في طبعتها الأولى في عام 2016، إلى لغاتٍ عدة (الإيطالية والفرنسية والإنكليزية والألمانية والصينية) ترجمت للعربية ٢٠٢٠.
د.نسرين درّاج
Profile Image for Livietta.
489 reviews69 followers
August 26, 2021
Comensal racchiude in poche pagine, non senza cinismo e humor, una serie di dense riflessioni sul rapporto dell'uomo con la morte. Lo fa raccontando storie che si intrecciano e che sono collegate tra loro dalla morte, appunto.
La storia sembra ruotare principalmente intorno a Ramon, a cui viene asportata la lingua dopo una diagnosi di tumore. Accanto a lui, la sua famiglia, che vive insieme a lui, ognuno alla propria maniera; il presagio di morte. Poi c'è uno dei personaggi che ho trovato più belli e commoventi, e cioè la (pia) donna di servizio, Elodia, che lo accudirà fino alla fine e il pappagallo malandato, donato dalla stessa Elodia a Ramon, e confidente di Ramon.
Accanto a loro, la terapista sopravvissuta ad un tumore al seno molto aggressivo, un suo paziente, giovane sopravvissuto alla leucemia, che però non riesce a staccarsi dal suo stato di malato e l'oncologo che segue Ramon, sinceramente il personaggio meno interessante (almeno per me).

Comensal riesce attraverso questi personaggi, raccontando vicende al limite del tragicomico e senza mai scadere nel cattivo gusto, varie sfaccettature del nostro rapporto con la morte: l'atteggiamento a "struzzo" (se non cerco un tumore, non ce l'ho), l'uso della malattia e della paura come scusa per non vivere, l'accettazione di se stessi in quanto esseri destinati a morire, la ricerca di un vantaggio per se stessi dalla morte degli altri, il rispetto per la vita e la morte degli altri.
Poche pagine, se avesse "allungato il brodo" credo che la resa non sarebbe stata migliore, che rendono chiaro quanto sia necessario affrontare certi argomenti per poter vivere la propria vita nel modo più sereno e pieno possibile.
Non gli do 5 stelle forse perché non ho amato particolarmente la caratterizzazione del personaggio del medico.
Profile Image for Meltem.
114 reviews21 followers
August 15, 2023
Bu ilk roman klişe bir konunun nasıl klişeye kaçmadan anlatılacağının iyi bir örneği. Bir avukatın başına üzücü bir olay gelir ve bundan kendisi, etrafındakiler ve onların da etrafındakiler bundan nasıl etkilenir.
Günlük hayattaki olayları, duyguları, tepkileri gerçekçi anlatan romanları seviyorum.
Doğumgünü yemeği, kurabiyeler ve sinema bölümleri favorilerim 👍🏻💯

Romanla pek de ilgisi olmayan arka kapak yazısı ve okunmayı artırsın diye eklendiğini düşündüğüm (çünkü çok klişe) Alejandro Zambra’nın yorumu olmasa da olurmuş 👎🏻 hiç ihtiyacı yok ki…
Profile Image for Claudia PerezLuna.
51 reviews1 follower
February 21, 2020
Un libro donde te confronta con la realidad ,el enfermo y cómo se vive de tantas maneras . Amé el personaje de Ramón, Benito y Elodia .Gran libro.....Gracias Soul Sister
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