Signs Preceding the End of the World

in Yambol, in southeastern Bulgaria, and spent most of his childhood in Topolovgrad, the even smaller “town of poplars” at the foot of Sakar Mountain. Gospodinov has written four books of poetry, which influenced his style when he turned to prose. His first, Natural Novel, was an instant success in Bulgaria and has been translated into twenty-one languages. The Physics of Sorrow is his second “novel.” Actually, Gospodinov blows up the norms and definitions of well-defined styles, wryly noting himself: “Purebred genres don’t interest me much. The novel is no Aryan.” The readers of his new prose enter a true labyrinth with main streets, parallel routes, side streets, rest areas, and no outlets—all paved with his endless supply of stories, and stories within stories, spanning from the present day of a country in transition from socialism to democracy to the myths of ancient Greece. Gospodinov, as the narrator, relates moments from his life, starting at the moment of birth and going back to his ancestors. The topics range from everyday life to natural philosophy, all colored by his rich imagination, sense of loneliness, and acute sensitivity. The legend of the Minotaur is a recurring theme, viewed as an innocent creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man, thrown in a dark prison through no fault of his own, rejected both by men and animals. The eighth chapter, “An Elementary Physics of Sorrow” (and especially the section “Migration of Sorrow”), lets the reader get very close to the narrator. We can easily get lost in this maze, if not for the helpful thread of Ariadne provided by Gospodinov’s unwavering compassion and humanity. Masterfully written in rich language, the novel meanders like a stream in the flatlands. Angela Rodel does an excellent job of the difficult task of translating some wordplays and proverbs without losing too much spice. (Author note: I dedicate this review to the memory of my mother.) Michaela Burilkovova Gainesville, Florida Yuri Herrera. Signs Preceding the End of the World. Lisa Dillman, tr. London / New York. And Other Stories. 2015. 114 pages. Makina is in charge of a small Mexican town’s telephone. A reliable messenger, she knows how to keep a secret and when to keep her mouth shut. She is dangerous when threatened, quick to defend herself against lecherous fools, and unafraid of speaking truth to power. The heroine of Yuri Herrera’s second novel finds herself facing unprecedented challenges when she sets out to find her brother, who immigrated to the United States a few years earlier, and bring him a message from their mother. Makina’s story develops elemental themes of family and migration within a novel structured around an equally elemental journey narrative and guiding references to earth, water, air, and fire. Her success as a messenger relies on Makina’s ability to adhere to a set of rules she tells herself, among them, “You are the door, not the one who walks through it.” Makina’s search for her brother obliges her to violate this rule, but it is only when she dares to walk through a number of doors, literal and figurative, that she reaches a definitive and enigmatic encounter with herself. The eventual dissipation of the difference between a conduit and the substance that passes through it describes Herrera’s novel as well. Its basis in the age-old formula of the quest gradually gives way to its singular ability to put into words the peculiar states of being that define our present-day world, characterized by radically varying degrees of mobility, their ease or difficulty determined by overlapping spaces, multiple borders, unexpected obstacles, sudden violence, absurd authority , and stubborn inequality. The novel’s nine chapters and descriptions of guides, peril, and border crossings are a clear reference to Dante. Related to this is the story’s emphasis on the unsettling power of intermediate spaces formed by several junctures, such as the world and the underworld, outside and inside, words and feelings, and consciousness and dreams. At one point along her travels, Makina’s guide leads her to a door. She enters and descends a staircase that opens onto a space

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