The Best Adult Books of 2005

By Carmen Ospina -- Críticas, 12/15/2005

This lively year in Spanish-language publishing saw a deluge of historical fiction and translations of U.S. best sellers. Here areCríticas’s picks of the best popular adult titles and other treasures that were reviewed on our pages in 2005 (For a full review of a book, click on its title). We bypassed translations of such buzz-generating works as Deception Point (La conspiración), Memoirs of a Geisha (Memorias de una geisha), The Historian (La historiadora), and The Voice of Knowledge (La voz del conocimiento) to leave space for noteworthy originals. Listed alphabetically, this selection is meant as a checklist for librarians and booksellers who want to keep their collections current and in demand. Stay tuned to our January issue for a list of the best children’s titles of 2005.

FICTION

Aguilar Camín, Héctor.
La conspiración de la fortuna.
(The Conspiracy of Fortune)
Mexico/U.S.: Planeta. 2005. 262p. ISBN 970-37-0368-2. pap. $19.95. FICTION

An award-winning Mexican novelist, journalist, and historian, Aguilar Camín follows the life and career of a gifted and enlightened politician who struggles with Mexico’s devious political system and drug trafficking subculture. Blending political journalism with the flowing prose of an accomplished novelist, Aguilar Camín creates a fascinating meditation on destiny and fortune.

Alarcón, Daniel.
Guerra en la penumbra: Cuentos.
(War by Candlelight: Stories)
tr. by Julio Paredes Castro. U.S.: Rayo: HarperCollins. 2005. 304p. ISBN 0-06-075887-2. pap. $13.95. STORIES

Alarcón has gained many accolades for this debut work of collected shorts, including the Whiting Writer’s Award in 2004. Because he was born in Lima, Peru, and raised in Alabama, his narrative voice displays a bicultural confidence—whether he sets a story in the Peruvian jungle or in the streets of New York, his prose is always sparse, his mood somber. Alarcón’s characters are heroes disguised as underdogs, battling their political and social struggles as immigrants, lovers, and revolutionaries. This Peruvian American author is someone to keep an eye out for in the world of Latino letters.

Allende, Isabel.
El Zorro: Una novela.
(Zorro: A Novel)
U.S.: Rayo: HarperCollins. 2005. 352p. ISBN 0-06-077901-2. $24.95. FICTION

After a trilogy of young adult-oriented novels, Allende takes on superhero El Zorro, the alter ego of aristocrat Diego de la Vega. The novel recounts Diego’s childhood in his native Southern California and his formative years in the Barcelona of the 1810s. The book features all the ingredients in Allende’s best-selling formula. Also recommended for young adults.

Benítez, J.J.
Caballo de Troya 7: Nahúm.
(Trojan Horse 7: Nahum)
Spain/U.S.: Planeta. 2005. 496p. ISBN 84-08-0683-X. pap. $21.95. FICTION

After a year’s delay, the highly anticipated seventh installment of the Caballo de Troya (Trojan Horse) series is finally here. Benítez transports readers to the Palestine of the first century, revealing unknown and controversial facts about Jesus before he became a recognizable religious figure. Regardless of its historical accuracy, Benítez’s work will appeal to those readers out there who are hungry for historical thrillers and religious conspiracies.

Bolaño, Roberto.
Los detectives salvajes.
(The Savage Detectives)
Spain: Editorial Anagrama, dist. by LD Books (305-406-2292). 2004. 609p. ISBN 84-339-6663-4. pap. $25.90. FICTION

First published in 1999, Los detectives won Anagrama’s Premio Herralde in 1998 and the prestigious Rómulo Gallegos award a year later. This polyphonic novel is the literary zenith of Chilean author Bolaño, who, albeit a short life and career (1953–2003), remains one of Latin America’s most influential contemporary writers. Fictional characters Arturo Belano and Ulises Lima, the founders of a literary movement called Visceral Realism, embark on a 20-year-long search for Mexican real-life, avant-garde poet Cesárea Tinajero. Their multi-continent quest, however, is ultimately for writing and poetry as ways of life.

Cercas, Javier.
La velocidad de la luz.
(The Speed of Light)
Spain/U.S.: Tusquets Editores. 2005. 305p. ISBN 84-8310-298-6. pap. $19.95. FICTION

After selling more than a million copies of his previous novel, Soldados de Salamina (Soldiers of Salamina, Tusquets, 2001), Cercas does not disappoint with this latest work. Here, he follows the unusual friendship between a haunted Vietnam veteran and a best-selling author who struggles to produce a new work. A gifted novelist, Cercas knows how to keep the reader’s attention, how to pace each scene, and how to unveil every secret. Without spoiling the intrigue, he embeds his text with insightful dissertations about the art of writing and the perils of success.

De Cervantes, Miguel.
Don Quijote de La Mancha.
(Don Quixote of La Mancha)
Spain/U.S.: RAE & Santillana. 2004. 1360p. ISBN 84-204-6728-6. $11.95. FICTION

In celebration of the fourth centennial of Don Quixote and Sancho’s first appearance in the world of Spanish letters, RAE published this accessible mass market edition of the classic. There are several commemorative versions of Don Quijote available in the United States, some more expensive than others, but this one stands out for its features, affordable price, and the backing of RAE. With an initial (and sold-out) worldwide print run of one million copies, this version of Don Quijote became one of the top sellers of the year.

Escandón, María Amparo.
Transportes González e Hija S.A.
(Gonzalez and Daughter Trucking Co.: A Road Novel with Literary License)
U.S.: Vintage Español: Random House. 2005. 320p. ISBN 1-4000-9650-2. pap. $12.95. FICTION

Escandón’s latest work is a sentimental and campy ride through the art and comfort of reinventing oneself through storytelling. “Truck-schooled” by her trucker dad, who took her along on the open road, Libertad González hits a huge bump in life’s road and commits murder. At a low-surveillance prison in the Mexicali desert, she sets up a weekly library club to keep her incarcerated friends too distracted to discover the truth about her criminal past.

Gutiérrez, Pedro Juan.
Trilogía sucia de La Habana.
(Dirty Havana Trilogy)
Spain: Editorial Anagrama, dist. by LD Books (305-406-2292). 1998. 359p. ISBN 84-339-1081-7. pap. $23.95. STORIES

Gutiérrez has been frequently compared to Charles Bukowski and Henry Miller for his sordid writings. Originally published in 1998, this semi-autobiographical debut about survival, despair, and hedonism displays the ugliest face of humanity, never trying to rouse empathy or pity. Pimps, prostitutes, and marauders parade through these pages as the narrator, Gutiérrez himself, looks for a “bisnes” that will provide food for the day—and, if lucky, also booze, a good cigar, and a woman.

Lechín, Juan Claudio.
La gula del picaflor.
(The Gluttony of the Frivolous)
Bolivia/U.S.: Alfaguara: Santillana. 2003. 346p. ISBN 99905-2-287-1. pap. $19.95. FICTION

Lechín won Bolivia’s National Literature Award in 2003 for this extraordinary novel about the immortal act of seduction. Seven gentlemen gather at a secret congress to discuss a topic that has long captured the male mind: how to seduce a woman. One by one, the men reveal their techniques and strategies, paying tribute to Don Juan and to Tirso de Molina’s famous Burlador de Sevilla. A best seller in Bolivia.

Montero, Rosa.
Historia del rey transparente.
(The Story of the Translucent King)
Mexico/U.S.: Alfaguara: Santillana. 2005. 535p. map. ISBN 970-770-326-1. pap. $19.95. FICTION

When a feudal lord in 12th-century France takes all the men in Leola’s family to the battlefield, she clips her hair and puts on a dead soldier’s armor to protect herself. Packed with references to medieval language, dress, warfare, and famous characters, Montero’s historical novel has become a huge success in the Spanish-speaking world.

Montes, Graciela & Ema Wolf.
El turno del escriba.
(The Magic of the Scribe)
Mexico/U.S.: Alfaguara: Santillana. 2005. 262p. ISBN 970-770-181-1. pap. $19.95. FICTION

Few know that Marco Polo’s Travels of Marco Polo, the wonderful account of his journey from Venice to the far reaches of Asia, was actually written by an erudite and imaginative scribe who shared a prison cell with the Venetian explorer in 1298. Winner of this year’s Alfaguara de Novela prize, this unique novel narrates the encounter between the writer and the adventurer, taking readers on an unforgettable journey through a fascinating period in the history of humankind.

Poniatowska, Elena.
El tren pasa primero.
(The Train Goes First).
Mexico/U.S.: Alfaguara: Santillana. 2005. 497p. ISBN 970-770-267-2. pap. $24.95. FICTION

Poniatowska has added a new title to her long list of works about important events and characters in Mexican history. This novel brings to life Mexico’s 1959 railroad workers’ movement and the men and women who made it possible. Poniatowska follows union leader Trinidad Pineda’s passionate fights to get fair wages and working hours for his colleagues, while revealing the behind-the-scenes stories of their women. Once again, she shows readers her prowess for getting at history through fiction.

Restrepo, Laura.
La isla de la pasión.
(The Isle of Passion)
U.S.: Rayo: HarperCollins. 2005. 352p. bibliog. ISBN 0-06-081620-1. pap. $12.95. FICTION

After writing six award-winning novels, including the 2004 Premio Alfaguara winner, Delirio (Delirium), it’s a retrospective treat to pick up Restrepo’s very first work of fiction. The Colombian journalist transports us to the small Mexican island of Clipperton in 1908, where a group of Mexican castaways create their own bizarre and lawless community, combating the negative effects of hunger, disease, paranoia, and desperation with one another.

Rodríguez, Antonio Orlando.
Aprendices de brujo.
(The Last Masquerade)
U.S.: Rayo: HarperCollins. 2005. 480p. ISBN 0-06-058635-4. pap. $13.95. FICTION

In this erotic tragicomedy, Rodríguez re-creates the dialect, customs, architecture, and artistic and political atmospheres of two very different cities, Havana and Bogotá, during the roaring ’20s. Two gay dandies travel from their cold Andean city to Havana to interview sublime Italian stage legend Eleonora Duse. They are violently changed by their new Caribbean home as they immerse themselves, always sweating profusely, in its cutthroat artistic world, Bolshevik meetings, and Santería spells.

Rosa, Isaac.
El vano ayer.
(The Impossible Past)
Spain/U.S.: Seix Barral: Planeta. 2004. 309p. ISBN 84-322-1186-9. pap. $22.95. FICTION

A journalist, playwright, and novelist, Rosa examines the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath, specifically a period of student unrest during the ’60s, when Spain was still under Franco’s military rule. Rosa writes with great irony and erudition, questioning the formulaic nature of other civil war novels and their clear-cut heroes, villains, winners, and losers.

Saramago, José.
Las intermitencias de la muerte.
(Death’s Intermissions)
Colombia/U.S.: Alfaguara: Santillana. 2005. 280p. ISBN 958-704-364-2. pap. $19.95. FICTION

In Nobel Laureate Saramago’s latest work Death suspends her daily task, bringing chaos and despair to a country where people never die. Turning away from his previous social and political statements, Saramago takes the difficult task of giving Death a human form.

Sierra, Javier.
La cena secreta.
(The Secret Supper)
U.S.: Random House Español. 2005. 355p. illus. ISBN 0-30734-445-2. pap. $13.95. FICTION

A huge seller in Spain, this Da Vinci Code spinoff follows Father Leyre, a priest for the Inquisition in the court of Pope Alexander VI, on his mission to Milan to oversee Leonardo Da Vinci’s completion of “The Last Supper.” His investigation sheds light on the possible source of inspiration behind Christianity’s most famous work of art.

Solares, Ignacio.
La invasión.
(The Invasion)
Mexico/U.S.: Alfaguara: Santillana. 2005. 298p. ISBN 970-770-214-1. pap. $17.95. FICTION

Solares, an award-winning Mexican novelist and playwright, presents a wonderfully written book about the invasion and occupation of Mexico City by U.S. forces during the Mexican War (1846–47). As an elderly upper-class gentleman reflects on his youth more than 50 years earlier, readers learn about the fear, shame, and embarrassment that this dark period in Mexican history brought to its people.

Subcomandante Marcos & Paco Ignacio Taibo II.
Muertos incómodos.
(The Awkward Dead)
Mexico/U.S.: Joaquín Mortiz: Planeta. 2005. 235p. ISBN 968-271-005-7. pap. $16.95. FICTION

This exhilarating collaboration fuses the vast talents of the world’s most literary revolutionary and its most politically savvy detective novelist. Taibo’s familiar Mexico City detective, Héctor Belascoarán Shayne, joins forces with a Zapatista investigator to track some villains whose misdeeds are emblematic of the crimes of the Mexican government in its treatment of dissidents during the “dirty war” and its more recent repression of indigenous groups in Chiapas.

NONFICTION

Collins, María Antonieta.
En el nombre de comprar, firmar…y no llorar.
(In the Name of Buying, Signing…and Not Crying)
U.S.: Rayo: HarperCollins. 2005. 236p. ISBN 0-06-074497-9. $19.95. SELF-HELP

In the same frank and intimate tone that made Quién dijo que no se puede an international best seller, Collins shares her embarrassing and life-changing experience with credit card debt. Writing specifically for U.S. readers, Collins gives practical advice on recognizing the symptoms of financial trouble, identity theft, bankruptcy, and the minimum-payment trap, as well as on dealing with the culture of consumerism and collection agencies.

Computación sin Barreras, Vols. 1–7.
(Computers Without Barriers)
U.S.: Lexicon Marketing. 2005. ISBN 1-59172-357-4. 7 vols. 7 study guides. 3 DVDs. 7 CD-ROMs. $799. COMPUTERS

Lexicon Marketing, the publisher of the popular ESL series Inglés sin Barreras, presents a similar set of books, study guides, and CDs for Spanish speakers wishing to learn about basic computer programs and the internet. If you liked Inglés sin Barreras, you will love this product. If you didn’t like it, expect to be pleasantly surprised. Remarkably well designed, this seven-volume computer course is an excellent resource to own despite the price.

Dellanos, Myrka.
Triunfa y sé feliz.
(Triumph and Be Happy)
U.S.: Random House Español. 2005. 248p. ISBN 0-307-34456-8. pap. $17.95. SELF-HELP

Following in the steps of other Univision stars turned best-selling authors, Dellanos aims to inspire others by describing her successful rise from radio announcer to television anchor. The two-time Emmy Award–winning journalist spells out the nine principles that led her to success and shares both comical and sad anecdotes about her career and personal life, including how she conquered the heart of one of the Hispanic world’s most sought-after bachelors, Luis Miguel.

Ponce, Angels.
¿Qué le pasa a este niño?
(What’s Going On with This Child?)
illus. by Miguel Gallardo. Spain: Serres, dist. by Lectorum. 2005. 92p. glossary. index. ISBN 84-8488-203-9. pap. $19.50. HOW-TO

Family therapist Ponce and illustrator Gallardo help parents and teachers with the difficult task of explaining something as complex as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, or autism to children. Simple language and charming, colorful drawings complement the explanations of the different types of disabilities and how they affect children. Exercises and key questions that help children develop awareness and sensitivity to the needs of the disabled further enhance this outstanding resource.

Ramos, Jorge.
Morir en el intento: La peor tragedia de immigrantes en la historia de los Estados Unidos.
(Dying to Cross: The Worst Immigrant Tragedy in American History)
U.S.: Rayo: HarperCollins. 2005. 192p. ISBN 0-06-078944-1. $19.95. CURRENT AFFAIRS

Popular Univision anchor Ramos examines the grim incident near Houston in 2003 when some 80 undocumented Mexicans and Central Americans were left crammed into a sweltering trailer for nearly four hours, killing 19 of them. Ramos draws from interviews with survivors and loved ones, deftly merging their accounts with news reports and court documents to reconstruct not only the ordeal in the trailer but also its complex backstory.

Real Academia Española.
Diccionario panhispánico de dudas.
(Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Doubts)
Colombia/U.S.: Santillana. 2005. 848p. ISBN 958-704-368-5. $29.95. REFERENCE

This highly-anticipated dictionary, product of a collaboration between Spain’s Royal Academy of the Spanish Language (RAE) and its branch academies in the Americas, tackles the challenge of defining standard usage in the face of an ever-changing Spanish language. In a country like the United States where Hispanics speak all kinds of dialects, this dictionary will set the record straight.

Santiago, Esmeralda.
El amante turco.
(The Turkish Lover)
tr. by Nina Torres-Vidal. U.S.: Alfaguara: Santillana. 2005. 429p. ISBN I-59437-647-6. pap. $19.95. MEMOIR

In her third memoir (after When I Was Puerto Rican and Almost a Woman), Santiago revisits a time when she had dared to leave her family and Puerto Rican culture behind to venture into exotic Hindu dances and a very foreign lover, 17 years her senior. Writing with uncommon frankness and directness, Santiago reaffirms her status as one of our most notable Latina authors.

Saramago, José.
Poesía completa.
(Complete Poetry)
Argentina/U.S.: Alfaguara: Santillana. 2005. 637p. ISBN 987-04-0107-4. pap. $24.95. POETRY

Saramago’s poetry is every bit as allegorical as his prose. This bilingual volume (Portuguese/Spanish) gathers the Nobel laureate’s three poetic works, Los poemas posibles (The Possible Poems, 1966), Probablemente alegría (Probably Happiness, 1970), and El año 1993 (The Year 1993, 1975). Saramago roams from investigations of the body to language and silence, to mythology and psalm, to love and ontological questions of happiness. His poems are more than just a fascinating complement to his famous prose.

Tibol, Raquel, Ed.
Escrituras de Frida Kahlo.
(Writings of Frida Kahlo)
Mexico/U.S.: Plaza & Janés: Random House Mondadori. 2004. 474p. ISBN 0-307-27400-4. pap. $21.95. ARTS

Tibol, a distinguished art historian who served as Diego Rivera’s personal secretary in the 1950s, presents a collection of letters Kahlo wrote between 1922 and 1946, including notes to school friends and intimate communications meant for lovers, as well as letters addressing Mexican politicians, actresses, and her husband. Kahlo is thoroughly modern, and her flair for melodrama, as well as her sense of humor and ability to poke fun at herself and others, make her writing captivating.

Villa, Guadalupe & Rosa Helia Villa, eds.
Pancho Villa: Retrato autobiografico, 1894–1914.
(Pancho Villa: An Autobiographical Portrait, 1894–1914)
Mexico/U.S.: Taurus: Santillana. 2005. 312p. illus. index. maps. ISBN 968-19-1551-X. pap. $24.95. BIOGRAPHY

When he was 35 and at the height of power, Mexican revolutionary hero Pancho Villa dictated his memoirs to his assistant. Though the original manuscript has mysteriously disappeared, Villa’s granddaughters have managed to publish this never-before-seen facsimile edition of the memoirs, based on photographic copies they had kept of the manuscript. Spanning the years 1894–1914, the book touches on Villa’s life of banditry, his early revolutionary activities, the capture of Ciudad Juárez, and his retirement, among other important episodes.

Washington Valdez, Diana.
Cosecha de mujeres: Safari en el desierto mexicano.
(Harvest of Women: Safari in the Mexican Desert)
tr. by Marisela Ortega Lozano Mexico/U.S.: Océano. 2005. 361p. bibliog. photogs. ISBN 970-651-988-2. pap. $18.25. SOCIOLOGY

El Paso Times journalist Washington Valdez investigates the sexual homicides of women in the Mexican town of Juárez. This heartbreaking expose implicates high-level police and well-known Juárez citizens in the unsolved murders of more than 400 young women.