Science Fiction Novels by Latin American Authors

National Hispanic Heritage month recognizes the contributions and achievements of Latin Americans. Two of my favorite recent reads are science fiction novels that highlight environmental issues written by authors from Latin American.  

Pink Slime by Fernanda Trías; translated by Heather Cleary

Living in a nearly abandoned coastal South American city, a woman balances her relationship with her aging mother and hospitalized ex-husband while caring for a boy who suffers from a strange eating disorder. Pink Slime’s unnamed narrator watches the world around her deteriorating while struggling to maintain normalcy amid toxic winds, food shortages, power outages, and police patrols. As she recalls key moments from her past she wonders if there’s any connection between her town's new meat processing facility and some of the odd happenings. 

Author Fernanda Trías was born in Montevideo, Uruguay and currently lives in Bogotá, Colombia, where she teachers a creative writing MFA program. She is the award-winning author of three novels. Pink Slime has been Longlisted for the National Book Award for Translated Literature and named a Best Book of 2024 by NPR, Esquire, Publishers Weekly, and ScreenRant. 

Staff Picks: You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrique - Adult Fiction

You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue

In 1519 two worlds collided when Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés entered the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. Álvaro Enrique’s novel You Dreamed of Empires describes the encounter from both sides, interjecting humor, hindsight, and modern perspectives.   

Arriving at Tenochtitlan, the Spaniards are amazed to find towering step pyramids, painted stone pathways, ornate palaces, pools, and gardens. The Aztec city is the largest and most impressive city on Earth, and the Europeans are offered fine robes, unusual local delicacies, and a sweet drink that is as treasured as gold. 

While Cortés and his entourage make themselves at home in luxury palace suites, Montezuma spends his time napping, dosing with hallucinogenic mushrooms, ordering executions, and frustrating his inner circle. Tactically, the Europeans' only advantages are their obedient antlerless deer and firepower.

You Dreamed of Empires humanizes the story's central players, including Montezuma’s sister/wife Atotoxlit and Gerónimo de Aguilar, the Franciscan friar who serves as a translator for the Europeans. The novel also richly imagines the lives of prisoners, confidantes, advisors, servants, and priests. 

Enrigue’s vision of the epic culture clash, skillfully translated into English by Natasha Wimmer, is both illuminating and wildly entertaining. Álvaro Enrigue is a award-winning Mexican writer who has authored novels, short stories, and essays. Enrigue lives in New York and teaches Latin American literature. 

Alicia Cavitt

Information Specialist 

Aztec Step Pyramid
Image credit: Forsyth County Public Library created in Canva.com

Staff Picks: Kill the Next One by Federico Axat

 

Kill the Next One by Federico Axat

In Federico Axat’s Kill the Next One, a married father of two with a terminal brain tumor and suicidal intent is abruptly interrupted by a stranger with an unusual proposition. Ted McKay’s mysterious visitor claims to be part of a covert organization that rights wrongs by targeting killers who’ve escaped justice. In exchange for Ted performing a hitjob on two well-deserving targets, someone from the organization will quickly eliminate Ted. It's a tempting Devil's bargain that spares Ted from taking his own life.  

But things don’t seem as straightforward once Ted pulls off his half of the arrangement. Unusual details raise Ted’s suspicions about the organization he’s killed for. Dark secrets from Ted's past start to emerge, and he experiences unsettling hallucinations. The story's mind-bending twists will captivate fans of psychological suspense and speculative fiction.  

Federico Axat was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Kill the Next One is his first novel to be translated into English. Check out our FCPL Hispanic Authors booklist for more titles by Hispanic authors and the events page for our Hispanic Heritage Month Series. 

Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist

Novel Realities Book Discussion The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

 

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno Garcia

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a new spin on the H.G. Wells classic novel The Island of Doctor Moreau. We will discuss The Daughter of Doctor Moreau at the next Novel Realities book discussion group at the Sharon Forks Library on Thursday, September 14 at 7:00 p.m.

The story takes place in 19th century Mexico, specifically on the Yucatán peninsula, an area so remote that it was often referred to as an island. There we find Carlota Moreau, the young, dutiful daughter of the doctor who spends his time creating animal-human hybrids to further his scientific pursuits. 

Staff Picks Chilean Poet by Alejandro Zambra

 

Chilean Poet by Alejandro Zambra

During Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 through October 15, I want to highlight one of my favorite literary writers, Alejandro Zambra. 

Alejandro Zambra is an award-winning poet, short story writer, and novelist who grew up in a suburb of Santiago during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and now lives in Mexico City.  

Alejandro Zambra’s latest literary novel, Chilean Poet, revolves around an eccentric community of aspiring poets and poetry aficionados in Santiago and paints a vibrant picture of modern Chile. Romantic encounters, loves, losses, and misfires play out (and are sometimes memorialized in poetry) amid discussions of classic and modern poets and poetry.