Arrecife
Juan Villoro
FICTION | 2012 | 240 pages
Tony Góngora is an ex–rocker who now works as a screenplay writer. One day, his childhood friend Mario Müller invites him to come to work in La Pirámide, a hotel he manages on the Mexican coast. There, his main task is to devise a way of transforming the movements of the fish who live in various aquariums into sounds to relax the hotel’s guests. Then, when faced with a crisis in the hotel business, Mario devises a plan that he regards as brilliant but Tony thinks is ridiculous: converting his guest’s anxieties about danger into controlled realities. His guests’ fears of kidnappings, natural disasters, and threats from guerrillas are enacted, all with the aim of giving them the opportunity to return to Europe or the USA with the feeling of having experienced an adrenaline-filled adventure. But things, as always, don’t quite work out as anticipated. One day someone dies: Ginger Oldenville, a diving instructor, is found floating in the aquarium wearing an apron. Tony Góngora’s journey to recover his identity is the excuse to create a fresco in which various characters take control their past in whatever way they can. Paradoxically, their attempts to rewrite their stories and deform their lives leads to unlikely consequences, turning their pasts into something unacceptable. Ultimately, the difficulty of fighting against self-inflicted wounds can end up causing even more damage. A tropical thriller that doesn’t appear to be a tropical thriller.
RIGHTS: spanish ANAGRAMA | english (usa) GEORGE BRAZILLER | german HANSER | portuguese (brazil) COMPANHIA DAS LETRAS | italian GRAN VIA | greek APOPEIRA | french BUCHET & CHASTEL
“Ominous atmospheres that bring to mind the apocalyptic or ghostly fictions of Ballard. The dialogues have a dry irony and the best wit and psychological observations of Chandler. Arrecife is a perfect novel in its representation of the disdain for life of its narrator and the almost heroic efforts of his friend, the ill-fated Mario, to show him the way out.In this magnificent novel by Juan Villoro, there is no respite.”
“A studied language, rigorous originality and incisive irony drive the writing, which undertakes a reflection of the ethical values of our times and the communal implications of personal choice.... A rich cast of contrasting characters in extreme situations take part in this ingenious puzzle with a spectacular novelistic outcome.”
“Arrecife can be read as interesting pulp fiction with a multi-layered social critique. The author has managed to create a claustrophobic atmosphere, making something that could be real into a story within a story... Don’t take your eyes off this promising Mexican author.”
“The irrefutable proof that we are in the hands of a major author is evident in this writer’s enviable capacity to suddenly change subjects and registers when everything seems to be leading in the same direction.”
BY JUAN VILLORO:
No soy un robot
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Arrecife
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Los culpables
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