Welcome the return of the In Translation book club and join our host, Adam, in expanding our global perspective exploring contemporary world literature translated to English. Next up is Rafael Bernal's His Name Was Death
About His Name Was Death:
A bitter drunk forsakes civilization and takes to the Mexican jungle, trapping animals, selling their pelts to buy liquor for colossal benders, and slowly rotting away in his fetid hut. His neighbors, a clan of the Lacodón tribe of Chiapas, however, see something more in him than he does himself (dubbing him Wise Owl): when he falls deathly ill, a shaman named Black Ant saves his life—and, almost by chance, in driving out his fever, she exorcises the demon of alcoholism as well. Slowly recovering, weak in his hammock, our antihero discovers a curious thing about the mosquitoes’ buzzing, “which to human ears seemed so irritating and pointless.” Perhaps, in fact, it constituted a language he might learn—and with the help of a flute and a homemade dictionary—even speak. Slowly, he masters Mosquil, with astonishing consequences… Will he harness the mosquitoes’ global might? And will his new powers enable him to take over the world that’s rejected him? A book far ahead of its time, His Name Was Death looks down the double-barreled shotgun of ecological disaster and colonial exploitation—and cackles a graveyard laugh.
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This book club will be hosted via ZOOM, a video conferencing app for computers and phones. Open to all -- please just rsvp with a ticket for access to the ZOOM meeting. You can also purchase a copy of the book here which will give you:
a copy of Rafael Bernal's His Name Was Death
access to the guided ZOOM discussion with our host, Adam, from Lost City Books
*** We ask that participants be aware that you will need to download the ZOOM app to join the meeting. Within ZOOM, your camera's audio will pull your video to center-screen so it is advisable to set up in a quiet area. Additionally we ask that participants be courteous and take turns speaking/remain aware of your floor time so that everyone can get the most out of the book club experience.