The Atrium

I recently finished The People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia and loved the intoxicating mix of magic realism and loose definitions on what is real and what is fiction. I was hooked immediately by the prologue, as a young boy brings a cat back to life with paper organs and later in life creates a woman of paper. And that's not all, folks. Characters wage war against Saturn, Baby Nostradamus teaches a young girl to mask her thoughts, an outlaw saint fills a boxing arena with the scent of potpourri when he dies, and the author becomes a part of the story in a completely unexpected way. Sad, funny and violent lives filled with the smells and visuals of Mexico and Southern California.

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