mutation

Las mutaciones

* Faced with unexpected changes and terminal illnesses, what else can we do? This stunning debut novel by a rising star in Mexican literature tells a story of both sorrow and joy, written with tenderness and extensive medical knowledge.
————————————————————————————————
Ramón Martínez, a successful lawyer, is a traditional family man and a staunch atheist. But when he has to undergo surgery to lose his tongue, leaving him unable to speak, everything changes, and a silent tragicomedy begins.
Carmela, his wife, begins daily arguments with a husband who can't answer her. Their two adolescent children, forced to cope with new circumstances, each struggle with overeating and masturbation. Ramon's melancholic oncologist remains obsessed with a young patient he couldn't save. A selfish pathologist, however, believes Ramon's tumor holds the key to a major medical breakthrough. One day, the maid brings Ramon a foul-mouthed parrot as a birthday gift. Ramon discovers that he can communicate with the parrot better than anyone else—it curses and shouts everything Ramon can't. It becomes his companion, confidant, and incredible alter ego.
A tribute to the work of writers like Sontag, Didion, Flaubert, and Tolstoy, Mutation boldly addresses an unspoken and universal reality, with a raw poetry tinged with regret, anger, and ultimately resignation, while offering a poignant and fascinating cross-section of contemporary Mexican life.
————————————————————————————————
Mutation is a brilliant novel, both a comedy and a tragedy, both contemporary and a classic, and most importantly, impossible to forget. After reading it, you'll be eager to read more - but this is his first novel, so you'll have to wait patiently for his next masterpiece.
—Alejandro Zambra (Chilean writer, author of "Bonza")
Sharp, hilarious, and perceptive—an amazing debut novel!
—Guadalupe Nettle (Mexican writer)
By telling the story of a disease and exploring the human fear of death, Jorge Commenza creates a world that is both absurd and hilarious, and touches upon our darkest emotions. Mutation is one of the most outstanding Latin American novels in recent years.
—Daniel Saldaña Paris (Mexican writer)
Jorge Commenza's "Mutation" oscillates deftly between comedy and tragedy, populating the book with a cast of characters in whose presence the reader is never sure whether to smile with sympathy or with pity.
—Fernando Aramburu (Spanish writer)

2022-09-01

上海译文出版社

Archipelago Books

170

9787532789658