Sea Monsters

November 5, 2018
In Aridjis’s ethereal and ruminative debut, a new wave–loving teenage girl named Luisa, living in Mexico City, impulsively runs away from home with Tomás Román, an exotic and exciting boy she hardly knows. They head for Zipolite, the “Beach of the Dead” in Oaxaca, where Luisa hopes to find a missing troupe of Ukranian dwarves that she believes may be hiding in the area after escaping from a Soviet circus touring Mexico. Enmeshed in precocious Luisa’s inner world, readers follow surreal fantasies and fascinations as she learns to dwell among Zipolite’s population of nudists, beachcombers, hippies, and even a so-called merman while she searches for the dwarves. She also meditates on William Burroughs, Baudelaire, Laurteamont,
historical curiosities such as the shipwreck where researchers discovered the mysterious Antikythera Mechanism, and, above all, her favorite bands, including Joy Division and The Cure. The book functions more like a mood piece than a traditional novel, a fitting choice in rendering Luisa and Tomás’s life as runaways. Brilliant in her ability to get inside the head of her young narrator, Aridjis skillfully renders a slightly zonked-out atmosphere of mystery and the mind of a young romantic, resulting in a strange and hypnotic novel.

Narrator Justine Eyre channels an uncertain and wistful teenager. Restless and hungry for adventure, 17-year-old Luisa, who lives in Mexico City, impulsively decides to run off to an Oaxacan beach with an acquaintance named Tom�s. Starting with the dubious aim of finding a troupe of Ukrainian dwarves who have recently disappeared from a Soviet circus touring Mexico, Luisa is soon ensconced in the eccentric beach community. Eyre employs a Mexican accent for dialogue, helping to situate the story geographically. Her thoughtful, introspective narration is marked by a slightly gravelly timbre. While not as clear as it might be, the gravelly vocal effect accurately captures the ambivalent teenager. S.E.G. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine