Yuri Herrera

A streetwise heroine crosses from Mexico to USA to find her brother in this mythologizing novel by Juan Rulfo's heir.

Signs Preceding the End of the World

Clark Louis

Mr. Aitch was the type who couldn’t see a mule without wanting a ride.

Jamieson

I'm dead Makina said to herself when everything lurched: a man with a cane was crossing the street, a dull groan suddenly surged through the asphalt, the man stood still as if waiting for someone to repeat the question and then the earth opened up beneath his feet: it swallowed the man, and with him a car and a dog, all the oxygen around and even the screams of passers-by. I'm dead


Signs Preceding the End of the World is such a short book, but the story and the epic journey of the main character feels like it fills so much more then 124 pages. We follow Makina, a Mexican woman from a place she calls "Little Town", who's going to cross the border into America to try and find her brother, who's been lost in America. (Later, we learn he is not lost but captive to the American Dream) Makina has to cross the border, but it's the other borders that really matter - the borders between white Americans and nonwhite American's, the borders between language, and the way that colonialism and imperialism has othered Makina, her culture, and her people, forcing them to the periphery. Scenes in which Makina sees white restaurants selling "All Mexican Foods", or scenes in which her and other people of colour are targeted by a policeman, the plight of her brother, the sexualisation of and commodification of her body due to it's ethnicity. These are the real borders that Makina encounters. 

Makina's story echoes the journey taken by the dead in Mexican & Aztec mythology. Each chapter allegorises a different stage of the underworld, thus Makina's opening line "I'm dead", is more then just a figure of speech, within the text it if figurative of her journey - Mexico to America, death to afterlife. 

Makina is a brilliant main character. In a memorable scene she breaks the middle finger of a man who touches her on a bus - she is both frightening but also relatable, and her struggles as a Mexican woman, especially in America, are really well explored. You can tell Yuri Herrera really threw his ideas and passion into this, that it was something he really wanted to get out there


I also think the chapter titles are just amazing. I will list below. The writing throughout is honestly beautiful (and I loved the translators note explaining their translation choices) but the chapter heads were my favourite 

• 1: THE EARTH
• 2: THE WATER CROSSING
• 3: THE PLACE WHERE THE HILLS MEET 
• 4: THE OBSIDIAN MOUND 
• 5: THE PLACE WHERE THE WIND CUTS LIKE A KNIFE
• 6: THE PLACE WHERE FLAGS WAVE
• 7: THE PLACE WHERE PEOPLE'S HEARTS ARE EATEN
• 8: THE SNAKE THAT LIES IN WAIT
• 9: THE OBSIDIAN PLACE WITH NO WINDOWS OR HOLES FOR THE SMOKE

I definitely would love to read Yuri Herrera's other translated works. This, and the other Mexican literature I studied, Amulet, were some of my favourite books in this unit. This book was both terrifying and mesmerising, the writing is beautiful, the characters strong, the scenes rich. 


  They live in fear of the lights going out, as if every day wasn’t already made of lightning and blackouts. They need us. They want to live forever but still can’t see that for that to work they need to change color and number. But it’s already happening.


I wish I had the ability to write a good and coherent review of this book, but here is one I really fucking love


I have FINISHED all the books in my 2017 English units ! Only short stories now yeessss

Chiyeung lau

“Yuri Herrera must have lived a thousand years”. I can’t imagine how difficult it was to translate this. Such breathtaking prose and unique word choices.

Imane

4.5/5

This short book was very impactful and came full circle in a way that didn't feel on the nose. I loved the main character Makina, as well as the interesting use of language ("to verse" meaning "to leave" for example) despite this book being translated. I'd love to read this in its original language but I don't think I have the range lmao. In the same way that Makina just keep moving forward in her "hero's journey", this book propelled me forward in a series of 9 chapters but I find it impossible to pin down the exact atmosphere of this book. It felt like a fable at times, albeit a rather dark one, with a dangerous crossing of the Mexico-US border, and several stressful encounters with the 'anglo' police. I guess it feels very liminal, from space to language to personhood to relations. I feel like I'll think about this book a lot.

Leafling

Gary Homewood

Short, poetic quest of a believable, self-reliant Mexican heroine crossing the US border, inventive language and dialog, surprising narrative turns, artfully dealing with many themes, both timeless and contemporary.

Signs Preceding the End of the World

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