LOST IN THE CITY: Tree of Desire and Serafin

by Ignacio Solares ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

These two related novellas by a major contemporary Mexican writer describe passages from rural villages into the distracting hive of Mexico City as symbolic journeys that cannot bridge the deep divisions within his country's culture. In ""Tree of Desire,"" a young brother and sister escape from an abusive family--or perhaps only dream so, and will awaken to the same inescapable deprivations and terrors. ""Serafin,"" the better of the two stories, records the odyssey of a boy sent by his mother to retrieve his fugitive father, and juxtaposes Serafin's search with the frustrated ""progress"" of a people's protest march. Solares's economy and mastery of realistic-grotesque detail imbue these otherwise doctrinaire tales with impressive immediacy and power.

Pub Date: April 1, 1998

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 150

Publisher: Univ. of Texas

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1998

Categories: FICTION