Description

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A gripping reflection of life on the border between the United States and Mexico, this novel combines contemporary sensibilities with pre-Colombian myth as it relates the story of Makina, a young, temperamental, and free-spirited girl searching for her missing brother. Throughout her journey, Makina is forced to rely on her ingenuity to survive nine legendary quests in a hostile and dangerous world. Borrowing liberally from Western and indigenous mythic traditions, the story reframes a familiar struggle—that of undocumented immigrants—in an imaginative and unique way, while never compromising the fundamental and moving humanity of its heroine.

Una apasionante reflexión de la vida en la frontera de los Estados Unidos y México, esta novela combina sensibilidades modernas con la mitología precolombina mientras relata la historia de Makina, una joven temperamental y libre que busca a su hermano desaparecido. A lo largo de su camino, Makina tiene que depender de su ingenio para completar nueve etapas mitológicas en un mundo hostil y peligroso. Con referencias míticas provenientes tanto de la tradición occidental como de la indígena, esta historia presenta una lucha familiar—la de los inmigrantes indocumentados—en una manera imaginativa y única, pero nunca comprometa la humanidad fundamental y conmovedora de su heroína.

About the Author

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Yuri Herrera is a writer, the editor of the Mexican literary magazine El perro, and a visiting professor at the University of North Carolina–Charlotte. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Praise For…

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"[A]n especially lovely text."  —El País