This weekend I finished reading Among Strange Victims, a novel written by Daniel Saldaña París and translated from Spanish by Christina MacSweeney for Coffee House Press. I picked this up at ALTA a couple months ago for a few reasons: 1) I was volunteering at the conference bookfair and it was hard to spend that much time with so many amazing books without getting at least one to take with me . . . , 2) One of my favorite Mexican writers, Valeria Luiselli, was published by Coffee House in Christina MacSweeney’s translation, so I trusted all the hands involved to impress me once again, and 3) A while back I read a really fantastic essay about writing in Mexico City by Daniel Saldaña París, so I was more than ready to hear his writing voice again!
The book didn’t disappoint. It’s funny and profound full of clever one-liners and sharp digressions. The story starts with Rodrigo, a loner who is content in his strange and mundane routines until the day he accidentally gets engaged to a coworker—named Cecilia, incidentally—and never really bothers to correct the mistake. Rodrigo marries Cecilia, loses many of his sacred routines, and finds himself part of a strange, eventually surreal mystery. The story moves from Mexico City to a dusty, tired town called Los Girasoles, and wraps in several more fun and bizarre characters and perspectives before its bizarre ending (resolution?). It’s a fun ride all the way through, with some lovely moments of deep meaning that are never lingered upon for too long.
When I finished the book, I closed it and stared at the ceiling, not sure if I was happy with the ending—and I’m still not sure that I am. But “happy” is a silly thing to ask for from a book, right? And I sure did enjoy reading this book, all the way through, so I definitely recommend this read.