Dancing with the Tiger

May 30, 2016
Set in Oaxaca, Wright’s (Learning to Float) thrilling debut novel introduces Anna, a woman from the U.S. who, along with several others, pursues the ancient and extremely valuable funerary mask of Montezuma. Seeking to redeem her parents’ research (her father was a discredited art collector), Anna throws herself into the corrupt and dangerous world of their past. She refuses to give up her search, even after she becomes the target of an infamous drug lord. This is not just a tale of filial redemption; it’s a tale of the desire to hide, and to transform into something beyond oneself. “I belong in this place where I do not belong,” Anna thinks. Each flawed character becomes linked in their desperation for a prize that promises another chance at love, pride, piety, or survival. “With that mask I could look God in the face,” the drug lord announces. A deep look at what it means to be masked, Wright’s novel is a worthwhile read for anyone in search of an authentically flawed heroine who learns to remove her own mask in a world where remaining hidden feels like the safest option. Agent Molly Friedrich, Friedrich Literary Agency.

This interesting audio production is regrettably something of a mess. Tim Pabon does a fine job with Spanish accents and pronunciations, important since the setting is Mexico, but his phrasing is often inattentive, and the many audible edits are distracting. The plot: a drug-addled young American who loots and sells archaeological treasures for a living finds Montezuma's death mask, sells it to a vicious drug lord, then steals it back. Bad idea. Enter about four more people with imperfect moral compasses, all wanting the mask for different reasons, most willing to kill for it. It's thrilling in spots, but in genre fiction, however literary, it helps to know whom to root for. For me the only character to believe in here was Montezuma. B.G. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine