twin time: or, how death befell me (Semiotext

by Veronica Gonzalez Peña

... as I poured my father's ashes into a big Ziploc bag, a little of myblood dripped in. I thought about how each cell has all of you fully inscribed init, so that if I left those drops in there, it would be as if I were already deadtoo. I plunged in then, to try and get myself out, but it was all so sticky that Ihad to give up; when I pulled out my hand, parts of my father were stuck all overit...--from Twin Time Witty, sarcastic, and sensuous, Twin Time: or, how deathbefell me tells the story of Mona, who, upon her father's death in Los Angeles, decides to set off in search of her long-lost twin brother, given away as an infant.With her father's ashes as a guide of dubious reliability, Mona embarks upon a questthat takes her into a forest where she's confronted by--among other beings--a bandof Nordic men, her Chinese doppelganger, a lascivious giant, and a pack of feralchildren. Along the way Mona recounts her parents' past as she imagines it, aromantic tale of love and rescue set in a fabulist, idealized Mexico--a dreamy placethat only vaguely resembles the harsh quotidian realities of the 1960s Mexico Cityher parents inhabited. When Mona finds her brother at last, she learns that he grewup in London with their mother--who had supposedly (or so Mona had been told) diedin childbirth--and her parents' story is thrown into further disarray. By the end ofthe journey, all Mona's received ideas of home, motherhood, magic realism, andmiscegenation have been overturned.Veronica Gonzalez is the coeditor of Juncture: 25Very Good Stories and 12 Excellent Drawings and the founder of rockypoint Press, aseries of artist-writer collaborations produced in association with 1301PE Gallery.Twin Time is her first novel.

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2007

About the author

Veronica Gonzalez Peña is co-editor of the cross-genre book Juncture: 25 Very Good Stories and 12 Excellent Drawings. In 2006 she founded Rockypoint Press, a series of artist/writer collaborative prints, books, and films. Her first novel, twin time: or how death befell me, was published by semiotext(e) and was awarded the 2008 Aztlan Literary Prize. Lynne Tillman calls her second novel, The Sad Passions (June 2013), “honest and riveting," and Francisco Goldman hailed it "a beautiful and moving choral tale of isolation, love, damage, and intimate struggles."

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Pena's THE SAD PASSIONS last year, I wanted to explore more works from the writer, but could not find this book (her debut, published as Veronica Gonzalez) anywhere. My parents found it online, though, and had it shipped to me for my birthday <3 I think I enjoyed the experience of THE SAD PASSIONS more, but TWIN TIME definitely has that similar bleak, mysterious storytelling tone I loved so much.

Pena does not make it easy for the reader to understand everything at all times; she weaves threads together for something very atmospheric. It starts as a tale of a teenage girl in Mexico City who has a strange relationship with her mom, and seeks out the companionship of a kind baker and a local theater that plays '60s French New Wave films. Told in three parts, the first part and last part are the most straightforward. There is a strain of magical realism here, but it's more of a nod to the instability of certain characters. The second part was almost a psychedelic journey into grief mixed with the intensity of unearthing facts about one's past that change your entire sense of self.

The middle section was a bit difficult to keep up with at times since there was so much to unpack, so much allegory, and so much questioning of what was read in the first part. But I love that kind of brain turning sometimes, that makes me pause and wonder a bit. Pena is one of my favorite authors for her ability to do this among her other literary talents.

[Joanna Forde · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 a bit choppy, but the lack of grounding was true to the characters

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant and strange book about identity, history and memory. The basic story is of twins separated shortly after birth and how they come to find each other 30 years later. The story is told from multiple points of view including the mentally disturbed mother and earnest, lovesick father of the twins. The story takes fantastical flights into enchanted forests and counterfactual historical romance (ie made-up history that reads like contemporary telenovela). A fantastic, fantastic book.

[Avra Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I fell in love with the first part of this book, and then was a bit disappointed when the narrative changed tone in the second part. In the end I decided I liked it, it is an interesting novel, and somewhat a traditional and non-traditional narrative all at the same time, but i kept feeling like the book was lacking a strong editorial hand. Worth reading for sure, but not spectacular.

[Angel Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange story. The key is to not be too literal, it is an emotional/mental journey for the main character. If you are looking for it to make complete sense, not a good read. If you are looking for something that keeps you thinking and wondering, then this is a good read.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is gorgeous and hard to describe. Much of it reads like a series of fairy tales that have been stitched together in a dream. Unique and very compelling.

[Victoria Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dream-like and different.