The novel of the 31-year-old writer had the privilege to be the first published work of the new-fangled press Siglo XXI Editores, and among its early champions were such luminaries as Juan Rulfo and Álvaro Mutis.
The Mexican author began working on the book in 1959, when he was just 24 years old, and finished it seven years later. There are some debuts, like Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane or William Gaddis’ The Recognitions, which give you pause and make you wonder: How could this be a first work? How is this even possible? Fernando del Paso’s debut novel José Trigo is likely to provoke the same reaction. For those who are going to participate: you can get any edition of the novel you like, but, in case you wish to read the same edition that I am going to use, please buy the one with the sunflowers on the cover (Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2015). This is indeed the last group read that I am going to host, and when we have finished tackling José Trigo, The Untranslated Book Club will close down for good. I am also planning to post there some additional materials and useful links related to the events narrated in the novel to make your reading experience more rewarding. Every month, on a Sunday, we are going to have an audio chat on my Discord channel to discuss what we have read in the past four weeks.
As usual, I take it upon myself to send you weekly instalments of the Reader’s Guide with a detailed glossary, which will save you hours of looking up difficult words, explanatory notes, and a summary of each reading passage. The best time to do that is from February 2 to February 6 to avoid being double-charged by the platform. If you have at least an intermediate level in Spanish and feel like challenging yourself by reading what I consider to be the Latin American Ulysses, you are welcome to join The Untranslated Book Club tier on my Patreon.
On February 6, 2023, we are starting our group read of Fernando del Paso’s masterpiece José Trigo, which is going to be the last event at The Untranslated Book Club.
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