Propulsive ... Some of the narrator’s many digressions occasionally bog down the story, and some of her concerns are broader than what the novel can successfully tackle, leaving larger points on gender and class underdeveloped. But this self-conscious narration also allows the story to shape-shift and traverse multiple forms and genres, from neighborhood gossip and police reports to the detective novel and the family saga. The result is an insightful and sprawling book, clever enough to turn its formal contradictions into a strength ... Heather Cleary’s translation from the Spanish has the wit and charm of the original, and deftly adds some glosses where context is needed ... In a story that is conscious of its own telling, Cleary seizes the opportunity to add yet another metafictional layer, to great effect ... The novel’s third act adds one final and surprising layer that reveals the true depth of its ambition ... The kind of story only an embodied fictional narrator could tell.
Another ambitious and original work from a writer who is always worth watching ... Lozano has a good eye for detail ... Lozano’s wry humor threads through the book ... Though at times the larger themes feel less than fully developed, the initial mystery of Gloria’s disappearance gives way to deeper mysteries, taking the reader to unexpected places.
