Almost Never

by Daniel Sada, Katherine Silver (Translator)

"Of my generation I most admire Daniel Sada, whose writing project seems to me the most daring."- Roberto Bolaño

This Rabelaisian tale of lust and longing in the drier precincts of postwar Mexico introduces one of Latin America’s most admired writers to the English-speaking world.

Demetrio Sordo is an agronomist who passes his days in a dull but remunerative job at a ranch near Oaxaca. It is 1945, World War II has just ended, but those bloody events have had no impact on a country that is only on the cusp of industrializing. One day, more bored than usual, Demetrio visits a bordello in search of a libidinous solution to his malaise. There he begins an all-consuming and, all things considered, perfectly satisfying relationship with a prostitute named Mireya.

A letter from his mother interrupts Demetrio’s debauched idyll: she asks him to return home to northern Mexico to accompany her to a wedding in a small town on the edge of the desert. Much to his mother’s delight, he meets the beautiful and virginal Renata and quickly falls in love—a most proper kind of love.

Back in Oaxaca, Demetrio is torn, the poor cad. Naturally he tries to maintain both relationships, continuing to frolic with Mireya and beginning a chaste correspondence with Renata. But Mireya has problems of her own—boredom is not among them—and concocts a story that she hopes will help her escape from the bordello and compel Demetrio to marry her. Almost Never is a brilliant send-up of Latin American machismo that also evokes a Mexico on the verge of dramatic change.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Spanish Literature, Latin American, Novels, Literature, 21st Century

330 pages, Paperback

First published November 3, 2008

About the author

Daniel Sada was a Mexican poet journalist and author whose work has being hailed as one of the most important contrubutions to the Spanish language.

He was a master of language and one of Mexico's most unique literary voices. His work is characterized by its dense, rhythmic prose and an inventive use of language that pushes the boundaries of traditional narrative forms. Sada's novels and short stories often explore the lives of ordinary people in rural Mexico, but he does so in a way that is anything but ordinary. His writing is filled with linguistic experimentation, blending formal and colloquial speech in ways that are both challenging and deeply rewarding.

One of Sada's most acclaimed works, *Almost Never* (*Casi Nunca*), is a testament to his distinctive style. The novel, set in post-revolutionary Mexico, follows the life of a man torn between duty and desire. Sada's use of language here is mesmerizing; his sentences twist and turn, mirroring the protagonist's inner turmoil. The narrative is both richly detailed and relentlessly paced, making for a reading experience that is as intense as it is immersive.

Another remarkable aspect of Sada's work is his ability to capture the rhythms and cadences of rural Mexican life. His characters speak in a language that feels authentic and true to their world, yet Sada elevates this speech to a poetic level. This is particularly evident in his short story collections, where he paints vivid portraits of life in the Mexican hinterlands with an economy of words that is truly remarkable.

Despite his considerable talent, Sada remains a somewhat underappreciated figure outside of Latin America. His work demands a level of attention and engagement that can be daunting, but for those willing to dive into his complex prose, the rewards are immense. Sada's contribution to Mexican literature is undeniable, and his works continue to influence contemporary writers. He is a literary figure whose work deserves greater recognition, both in Mexico and beyond.

Reviews

[Vit Babenco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel Sada writes about sensuality and he is peculiarly sardonic…
Almost Never is a love story but it’s no romance…
There is the hero’s true love…

…a beauty who kept her head bowed and began to cry – why? could it be from sudden joy… and if not, what? A courtship should be cheerful! or rather: future cheer; future long and soft kisses: a great subject for the study of sensations, and with the sudden release of the lips – cheerfulness at last! right? or not? In their heads – there?! Ipso her sweetheart asked: Why are you crying? and mechanically Renata answered: Sometimes I’m quite a crybaby. You’ll soon get to know me… I ask only that when you see me like this you don’t pay any attention to me; though where to look and what to say at that moment that would be appropriate: Demetrio tried.

And to satisfy hero’s sexual desires there is a whore…

“Because I want to live with you. I’ve made up my mind.”
“But I don’t … not now anyway.”
Such things catch fire, then flicker. To each of Demetrio’s negatives there rose from Mireya a new and affable perspective. She exhibited a red-hot wit, despite her troubles and her panic; wit spiced up with nicknames such as: my peach, my melon, my plum, instead of my love or my life; fruits, it would seem, that do not ridicule. And though Demetrio tried to slither troutlike out of her grip, something, some sticky residue, remained on the thin skin of those palms, as it were, but so it was.

However, the possessive hooker took it into her head to marry the hero so a love triangle or, rather, a love knot appears… Fortunately, the knot is hacked soon enough but the true love sets herself out of the hero’s reach so his tragically comic struggle to reach his beloved begins… But is it worthwhile?
Sexuality is always in conflict with social conventions.

[João Reis · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Caray!
Ao ver a classificação deste livro no Goodreads, constato uma vez mais que nem sempre (ou raras vezes) se premeia a qualidade literária nesta plataforma. Este livro é, de facto, excelente e um dos melhores que li este ano.
Trata-se de um romance com um estilo muito próprio, com uma narrativa concentrada no banal, mas que nunca cai no exercício fútil de muita da pós-modernidade. Um livro cheio de humor, por vezes cínico (que muito me agrada) - com algumas cenas hilariantes -, e de sexo, no qual seguimos as andanças do agrónomo Demetrio, homem perdido entre o amor convencional e puritano e o recurso ao sexo pago, no México rural dos anos 40. Uma visão cínica e nada romântica do amor e do sexo. O estilo barroco e experimental e a linguagem rica podem afastar muitos leitores, mas, após o impacto das primeiras páginas, revela-se um livro de leitura torrencial, e só demorei tanto tempo a lê-lo por falta de disponibilidade.
Este romance venceu o prémio Herralde, prémio espanhol que não tem equivalente em Portugal no que concerne à qualidade literária das obras que premeia. Um livro que dificilmente será traduzido para Português de Portugal, e que decerto teria pouco sucesso no nosso país, tão relutante em aceitar humor e sexo - que Sada usa em abundância - na chamada literatura «séria».

[Guillermo Jiménez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cada vez que leo algo de Daniel Sada recuerdo que leí en varias partes (o entrevistas) que él escribía una página por día, o página y media, por la mañana, y que por la tarde revisaba lo escrito y listo: ya estaba una página de lo que estuviera trabajando.

Al leer cualquier texto de Sada uno puede ser testigo de la labor artesanal que este hombre puso en escribir cada una de esas cuartillas.

Hay una sonoridad en el lenguaje, un encuentro con los recovecos del español al que pocas veces estamos expuestos, una infatigable búsqueda de que la obra no sea solo anécdota, pero en la que su formalismo literario no esté carente de significado, de profundidad, de hallazgos y descubrimientos de los límites hasta los que es capaz de llegar la literatura. E incluso, rebasarlos.

Esta novela sucede en los años cuarenta en México. Va de un rancho de Oaxaca a otros ranchos en Coahuila, y Sada se encarga de divertirnos comparando algo como Parras, Coahuila con una ciudad de Europa, y es que, el humor sadiano es riquísimo, son guiños y guiños y acotaciones muy inteligentes y graciosas.

Algo que me gusta de Sada es su pasión por narrar, por narrar, además, con soltura y entrega, dedicándole todo lo que cree conveniente a la trama, pero hilando las raíces de la historia hacia caminos muy bien construidos, en todo momento los personajes responden a la naturaleza que les ha confiado su autor, y quien valiéndose de un narrador picaresco, pareciera que se asombra al mismo tiempo que el lector, de las broncas de cada uno, de los giros inesperados (o previstos) que puede seguir la historia.

No es fácil leer a Sada, no es fácil porque le exige al lector tiempo, atención, y a veces, un buen diccionario a la mano, no es fácil, pero es la mar de disfrutable, y una de las prosas en español más fecunda que haya dado la segunda mitad del siglo XX.

Descanse en paz, Daniel Sada, quien vivirá por siempre en la páginas de su obra. Obra que leeremos y releeremos con placer desmedido.

[Chad Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book--apparently, a lot more than most of the other GR reviewers (so far). Rather than write a normal review of this here--especially since I'm planning on writing a long review for Three Percent--I think I'll just try and describe this book using Last.fm-esque tags. (Sidenote: My favorite Last.fm tags for individual songs are "everybody high-fiving everybody" and "rabbits ejaculating sunshine.") So here goes:

* lots of sex with whores * orgasmic finale * frustrating courtship rules * maybe sexily inappropriate aunt * thieving all the money * agronomy is boring * in and out and in and out * narrator for the ages * the kissing was OK, the licking was filthy * sex that sparkles * 328-pages of foreplay

[jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

perhaps like roberto bolaño before him, daniel sada may well be on his way to achieving posthumous fame amongst english-language readers of literary fiction in translation. almost never (casi nunca), the first of the late mexican writer's books to be translated into english, was awarded the prestigious herralde prize in 2008. sada's work has attracted both critical and popular acclaim, culminating in his receiving mexico's national prize for arts and sciences mere hours before he passed away last november. while apparently not even his best work (or even all that indicative of his supposedly immense literary talents), almost never is a rollicking, entertaining, and unrestrained novel.

sex-obsessed, sex-possessed, sex-frenzied, hyper-sexed demetrio sorto, almost never's young agronomist protagonist, is a salacious, libidinous character forever in pursuit of the old "in. out." set throughout mexico over a number of years in the late 1940s, sada's rousing novel is replete with lively, colorful characters. demetrio falls in love with two women: mireya, a sassy, sensual prostitute, and renata, a more proper, reserved young woman from a traditional family. despite his unyielding prurience, demetrio must decide for himself which of these women he can most likely build a future with. almost never may well feature one of the longest courtships to be found in modern fiction.

sada's novel takes aim at mexican machismo, yet does so with voluptuous humor and ample playfulness. almost never offers an entertaining enough tale, but it is sada's singular style that is the star of this story. staccato phrasings, frisky language, abundant alliteration, witty asides, and an often jocular narration meld to form a most unique technique. sada employs colons as liberally as the great saramago did commas, and the effect relays a charming eagerness or alacrity on the part of the narrator.

with another nine novels to his name, including the apparently-stunning masterpiece because it seems to be a lie, the truth is never known (porque parece mentira la verdad nunca se sabe), as well as several collections of short stories and poems, it is likely that english-speaking readers will have many sada translations to look forward to. with but a single work already rendered from the spanish (and described as his most accessible, at that), it is hard to form a true conception of this heralded mexican author. given the consistent acclaim from the likes of bolaño, carlos fuentes, and many others, however, as well as the prowess on display throughout almost never, it is of little wonder that daniel sada was regarded as one of the most important spanish-language writers of his generation.

separation. choice. the rest of the day mother and son exchanged nary a word. demetrio took a stroll around parras. he needed to feel alone in order to think things backward and forward. the bad part of that tree-lined town was the paucity of restaurants and cafés, and not a single spot that was even remotely depraved; rather, the tacit aspect of the tranquility: more sacred relief than you could shake a stick at: three small plazas with cute benches and well-scrubbed kiosks. streets made for the most primary of pleasures. sights and sounds like extra decorations that made (and make) the seeing and the feeling seem haggard. nevertheless, to stroll without faith, take a seat in some spot, and slowly slowly convince himself that this was not for him, that such a small-minded world would ultimately fill him with supreme disgust; it would be like consciously shrinking himself in order to quickly attain the philosophical outlook of an old geezer; it was to remain uncontaminated, at least not infected, by the unknown, or to cling to a few fixed ideas that had to be neutralized with neutral ingredients, never anything perturbing; it was the nonemancipation and the nonaudacity and, most of all, the senility of it all, of his soul, for example. perhaps a fettered spirit. a young spirit whose flight had reached no higher than a hummingbird's: to wit: to peck only at the known, at what was most obvious, and from there thoughts that zigzag toward the margins, to find therein more excitement: a desire that must not be, how could it be, and till when. demetrio experienced more excitement on his train ride to sacramento. he couldn't, however, escape the rigid circle he had drawn for himself, unintentionally, in which, somehow or other, he now found himself trapped.
trapped. never!

*translated from the spanish by katherine silver (castellanos moya, aira, martín adán)

[Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking off from the epigraph of this book I had the following conversation in Emir Never's non-review here at goodreads:


"Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly: 'Of my generation I most admire Daniel Sada, whose writing project seems to me the most daring.' —Roberto Bolaño


"In a Playboy interview it went like this:

"Playboy: What Mexican writer do you deeply admire?

"Bolano: Of my generation I admire Sada, whose goals seem the most daring to me...


"Any idea what this "writing project" or "goals" was/were?


"Emir Never: I don't have any idea."


I asked the question before he (Emir Never) lent me his copy of this book, excitingly promising that I would SURELY enjoy it.


He was right. I not only enjoyed it, I ADORED the work and its author. This is a masterpiece of breathtaking metaphors that only gives the reader an occasional rest, the striptease going on not in mere sentences, or paragraphs, but in pages upon pages that seem inexhaustible.

And they all revolve around Emir Never's favorite activity--sex.


So what was Daniel Sada up to? Even after Emir Never had read the book he remained clueless. He probably thought the it was sex Sada was trying to revolutionize, as CASI NUNCA (the novel's original title) almost has sex in every page. Good thing Emir Never had me read this. Otherwise he would have forever been in limbo. Almost Never, Emir Never!

Now I loudly take note: in all other works of fiction that I have read there is a clear dichotomy between the reader and the writer (or the work's fictive narrator, as the case may be). But here Sada seemed to have succeeded in erasing this by distancing himself from his character (a novel technique); by suggesting, and not merely telling (clever, clever!); and by offering possibilities and not just a fixed plot (what would you like to happen, or to have happened?).

Demetrio in a menage-a-trois with the two whores Cirila and Begona; Demetrio and Renata during their first night as husband and wife; Demetrio in reverie, comparing his past sex (and the sex he misses) with his favorite whore Mireya with his future sex with the chaste Mireya--literary events by themselves, among the many here, which I shall privately celebrate for as long as I have eyes that can read.

[Cosimo · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Le idee di Demetrio percorrevano un'orbita, si ricordò delle sue ex come se stesse presenziando a una parata di miniature; ragazze in miniatura; le baciò sulla bocca, tutte, nessuna esclusa, nient'altro; incantesimo in tonalità seppia, ma forse, non conviene attingere dal passato; amori perduti che non giunsero mai alla nudità, e a pronunciare questa parola si ricordò di Mireya, la carnalità come una febbre sfrenata; il sesso fino alle stelle, così rarefatto da non poterlo più immaginare; un'immagine scossa da raffiche di vento”.

Daniel Sada ha scritto un romanzo passionale e picaresco sulle grottesche disavventure amorose di un tragicomico e poetico antieroe. L'agronomo messicano costruisce la propria vita come un ranch nel mezzo del deserto: una natura da opporre con favore alla desolazione, tramite una continua e religiosa devozione al comandamento della carne e dello spirito, senza contraddizioni. Lo stile è surreale e realista insieme, musicale e corporeo, spregiudicato e coraggioso nell'uso del linguaggio espressivo. Una lotta farsesca e irriverente, estenuante nel suo essere labirintica, conduce il protagonista nel luogo dove tutte le cose sono al loro posto, dove dominano e prosperano amore e denaro. Al di là del rimorso e del senso di colpa, i più autentici desideri vengono svelati e si indagano le verità più intense, frequentando spesso il tradimento e quasi mai mantenendo le promesse. Sembra volerci accompagnare al piacere, il sapiente narratore; nel frattempo non dimentica di lasciarci percorrere ogni possibile sentiero alternativo, ogni traccia di quella scrittura assente, che costituisce l'architettura essenziale del racconto.

“La donna che forse aspettava un figlio da lui e che si smarrì nella confusione di una notte x; era la stessa donna che appariva nei suoi sogni e si prendeva gioco di lui, dicendogli: Povero imbecille, non sai cosa ti sei perso, l'amore in tutte le sue varianti: sesso ma soprattutto comprensione e tenerezza infinita. Cosa vuoi di più, coglione”.

[Alejandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Casi nunca hallamos una prosa tan bañada de oro como la de Sada.

Casi nunca las formalidades del amor se llevan con tan buen gusto a la cúspide del castellano.

Casi nunca el lenguaje en sí mismo es novela.

Casi nunca nacen escritores artesanos.

Y casi nunca (o siempre) el sexo es protagonista de la vida.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The word 'baroque' has been batted around to describe Almost Never, I might suggest 'picaresque' as an alternative or perhaps a compliment. Any how, Sada's novel is unlike anything 20th century modernism or reductionism managed to produce. It owes more to Moliere than Joyce. But throughout, Sada broadcasts his own subtle form of genius; a razing of standards and markers of the literary novel. This book is too playful, too fond of words that break the taboo of sounding artful and sincere. Sada doesn't worry about sincerity, since this is just a story after all, and Demetrio, our protagonist, certainly has no use for it either. Sada lets us see through all his narration just as we can see through all the pomp of the characters within.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you ever wondered what a contemporary male version of a Jane Austen novel about getting a young woman married would be like, with the attendant interference of mothers and aunts, misunderstandings, letters, financial ups and downs, maneuverings, etc , this might be it. But, with sex. Lots of sex. And recognition of the consequences of a cowardly act along the way. Set in rural Mexico in the 1940s, the book looks at solitude, moral distortion, authenticity, class issues, women’s roles in Mexican society, and more.

The experimental style uses a very dijointed sequence of words and phrases much of the time. Very interesting and effective in small doses, but quite tiring to read for extended periods.

[Portia Renee Robillard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Sada's prose is like eavesdropping on someone's train of thought. His style of writing is unique and masterfully executed. Brimming with humor, (I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions), we follow Demetrio as he bumbles his way through a series of poor choices and missteps while struggling to ally his lascivious nature with a path worthy of respectable society. Almost Never is currently Sada's only work translated into English, a real shame, as I would love to read more from him.

[Mikhail Carbajal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi libro favorito, ever.
Un cocktail maximalista, con un personaje monótono, común, conforme, y descarado.
Lean a Sada, es uno de los más grandes autores de nuestra lengua, con un estilo único y una voz narrativa endémica.

[Eric Uribares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pinche Sada siempre se me complica. Tan barroco y a la vez tan rítmico. Pero se agradece y mucho, la batalla constante por reinventarse y tener un estilo propio, casi único.

[Marge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because of the rave reviews, but I had the feeling much was lost in translation. I know Sada is viewed as a major writer in Spanish, even in Spain, but since I read the novel (his only one translated into English), in English, I am not sure I got to see his use of language; in fact, I am sure I didn't. So, what else was here for me? A wild tale of the virgin, the whore, the mother, and for added spice, the aunt, in dusty, pre-road Mexico. I definitely enjoyed reading it, page by page, and lots of it was very funny, particularly the scenes of the drawn out courtship of the virgin, but I just kept thinking I must be missing a lot here. It felt like an extended hyperbolic joke, one I sort of got, but thought maybe there was a shadow story under the joke, which I wasn't getting. Still, I'm glad I read it, even just to see something by a writer whom Roberto Bolano is quoted as having called "the most daring" of his generation. I hope more of Sada's work is translated, because this does not seem to be the novel to which Bolano was referring, especially considering his own "Savage Detectives."

[Liviu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a little disappointing after the gushing reviews everywhere; a fast novel and an easy read that flows well, but not about too much (see the blurb which is accurate) and with nothing to really remember from it. Maybe if you are a fan of Mexican culture the book will have more meaning for you, but while I turned the pages and enjoyed the reasonably funny prose so I would not say I wasted my time with the book, at the end I was left with "this is it??"

It seems the author's fame is based on a more complex novel and let's hope it will get translated as i do not feel like the effort needed for my relatively rudimentary Spanish to go through it is worth based on this

[Sebastian Uribe Díaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOVELAZA. Daniel Sada era un tremendo escritor, único en su clase. Lo seguiré leyendo sin duda.

[Mauricio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Con un estilo muy particular de escritura Daniel Sada cuenta una historia en 4 actos en la provincia mexicana de los años 40s.

La escritura me hizo reflexionar en algo que a había notado pero no considerado con calma, esto es cómo al leer un libro escrito con un estilo diferente a lo que estamos acostumbrados a leer éste es muy notorio al principio de la lectura pero uno se va acostumbrando a él de tal manera que al final es prácticamente transparente. Alguna vez pensé que había casos en que los autores dejaban de utilizar su estilo peculiar según avanzaba la lectura pero la lectura de "Casi Nunca" me comprueba que ese no es el caso sino que el lector se acostumbra al estilo.

[Javier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! One of the greatest books I have ever read, in spanish, I have never realized that it was possible to use the words in that way. Fabulous! Awesome! I am wishing to read it again, to feel one more time that emotion.

[Vivian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puro alivio.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Meter.
Sacar.
Meter.
Sacar.
Puro alivio."

[Joe Cummings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost Never is the 2012 translation by Katherine Silver of Daniel Sada’s 2008 novel Casi nada . It’s the story of Demetrio Sordo a norteño agronomist working in Oaxaca. The young man has two women in his life who are trying to catch his heart. One is a beautiful green eyed brunette named Renata who lives back home in Coahuila. She’s from a remote village up north and has been raised in the rural tradition to be all proper and prim. The other girl is Mireya; she’s a spectacular looking whore working down in Oaxaca.

Demetrio just wants to enjoy life as well as he can. The girls, however, want the same thing. Both want the agronomist to take them away from they are to a better place somewhere else.

The girls are not the only ones. This novel is set from 1945 to 1950, and it catches Mexico in a state of transition that continues to this day. Mexico is becoming more industrialized. Remote villages are emptying out as people start looking for opportunities in faraway locations. The nation’s infrastructure also is improving; roads are getting better. Times are changing.

Not that everyone is happy with the changes around them. A worried generation is being left behind in the villages and small towns as young people seek new opportunities further and further away in cities, in new factory towns, and across the frontier. Parents are wondering what will happen to them if all their children move away.

It’s against this backdrop that Demetrio seeks to find a successful life in a new world while satisfying the demands of family and tradition. It’s a funny tale about a time that’s not that far away. In fact, this was the Mexico that the author was born into in 1953.

Sada as a poet and writer was greatly admired by Mexican and Latin American writers from Carlos Fuentes to Roberto Bolaño. This is the first of Sada’s work to be released in English translation. I look forward to reading more by this interesting writer.

[Ernesto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Para ser honesto estuve a punto de dejar el libro en la página 50. No es una lectura a la cual sea fácil acercarse por primera vez. El estilo de Daniel Sada es complicado y difícil de digerir de buenas a primeras. Acostumbrado a un tipo de escritura más ortodoxa, estar leyendo en un mismo párrafo más de dos dobles puntos ofende a tu ortodoxia. Tratar de entender si la última oración se refiere a parte de la narración, pensamiento del personaje o diálogo entre éste y otro personaje es algo difícil de ordenar en una primera lectura.

Pero no quería ser vencido por esta particular forma de escribir y perseveré hasta que pasó lo que tenía que pasar: quedé atrapado por el libro.

La historia es por sí misma bastante simple: Ubicados en el lustro de 1945 a 1950, somos testigos de la vida de Demetrio Sordo, un agrónomo que se enamora de una prostituta, al tiempo que quiere encontrar estabilidad con una "buena" mujer del pueblo de su madre. Las situaciones de costumbre que vamos encontrando a lo largo de la narración son siempre muy divertidas, el contraste entre el perverso amor de prostíbulo y el inmaculado amor lleno de restricciones de la pueblerina se vuelve simplemente muy divertido.

Si no tienes miedo a la narrativa moderna del ganador del Premio Herralde de Novela, te invito a que leas el libro, al final no podrás arrepentirte.

[Diego · Rating 5 out of 5]

excelente narrador, nos atrapa en su forma de escribir, nos da cuenta de otro tiempo y otro mundo, otras costumbres. remece todo el lenguaje, escribe con todas las palabras, es cómico, es intraducible, es literatura pura.

Un joven agrónomo sólo piensa en sexo y en ahorrar dinero en su aislamiento laboral. Por eso se consigue una buena prostituta con la cual hasta llega a huir para hacer una vida en común, pero se arrepiente a mitad del camino y abandona ese aventurero plan.
Se resigna a casarse y a seguir todos los procedimientos socio-morales que implica el enamoramiento, noviazgo y matrimonio con una mujer decente de sus círculo más o menos familiar.
La novela comienza como acaba hablando de sexo, el sexo como el motor de la vida.
Finalmente el personaje principal, Demetrio, ya puede meter y sacar con su fiel y resignada esposa que como las nativas de Sacramento sabrá comportarse.
Lo más interesante de toda esta historia sin duda es el modo comoel narrador cuenta los hechos. Por donde pasa su discurso literario mueve todo el sistema lingüístico como si pasara un tornado. La función poética aparece reforzada reencontrándose la literatura con su propio universo verbal intraducible a otros lenguajes.

[Paolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novela con visos costumbristas, por lo que nos da una perspectiva del México gazmoño y pacato, hasta la fecha en cierto grado, de mediados del siglo XX.
Sada usa de modo excesivo un perentorio recurso gramatical: los dos puntos (:). Sin embargo, hace gala de una voz fresca y original que nunca llega a ser plúmbea.
A diferencia del protagonista, liberemos de cualquier esclavitud, venérea o amorosa, y sólo entreguémonos al placer de la lectura.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

bizarrely written. a stream of funny countryisms fused together into something like poetry. the dillemna of a man caught between two loves: one chaste, one distinctly unchaste. some of the funniest, and strangely moving sex scenes i think i've ever read. Engrossing and deeply weird, but that doesnt really even begin to describe the thing.

[Felipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot is simple but nonetheless good. What really stands out is how Sada tells the story. Even reading it English, I could tell how masterful is his playing with words and ideas (translating this must have been very difficult for Silver, but she pulled it off).

The ending was predictable, but so good.

Appreciate the language, the storytelling.

[Francisco Cardona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know if I would invoke Rabalais to this novel. The neo-baroque most definitely because of the spiral path the protagonist embarks on throughout the novel. Not only in his journey, but his physical self also. I thought I reviewed this already. I am going to have to go back and re-read it now for details. Rabalais? Hmm, maybe someone could explain that to me in the mean time.

[Strika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exquisito manejo del lenguaje.

[Stefany GG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Todo gira en torno al sexo.

[Rodrigo Chavez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tardé tres cuartos de libro en darle el golpe y valió la pena aguantar las burradas de Demetrio. Un acierto recomendatorio del Sr. Coneje, como casi siempre.