Cárdenas undercuts the idea of a single, stable identity and suggests the self as a many-layered work in progress . . . Original, richly felt, deftly written. Highly recommended. –Kirkus (Starred Review)
Reading
Aphasia bears similarities to the split reality of living on- and offline. It also echoes the deeper divide of existing between countries, establishing roots in a new place while tending to connections in an old one . . . [The book] dramatizes our growing ability to occupy multiple narratives at once–and proves that literature itself can do the same. –
High Country News "Antonio, the hero of this manic comic novel, is a Colombian database analyst in California, worried that his sister's mental illness will upend his life." –
The New York Times (New and Noteworthy)
"The nonstop engine of Cárdenas' prose [and] this quirky, playfully difficult novel will appeal to fans of Latin American fiction that navigates the bleeding edge of experimentation." –
Booklist Mauro Javier Cárdenas's
Aphasia batters at the limits of guilt, of masculinity, of love and promiscuity, of the American family and English syntax." –Nicole Krauss, author
To Be a Man and
The History of Love Mauro Javier Cárdenas has knocked down the novel as we know it, and built a cathedral out of the debris. Aphasia is monumental, funny, potent, and fresh. It marks a new beginning." –Carlos Fonseca, author
Natural History "Brainy and decadent, playful and outrageous,
Aphasia marks the comeback of the Self in a spiraling trip into contemporary manhood and the Latin American spirit that will render you speechless." –Pola Oloixarac, author
Dark Constellations