Spanish / Mexico
Sonautas
(Sononauts)
Salazar, José Luis
(text)
Ciudad de México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2024. – 394 p.
(Series: Hilo de Aracne. Poliédrika; 15)
ISBN 978-607-30-9551-8
Coming of age | Music | Search for identity | Family
Reading age: 15+
White Ravens issue: 2025
The 17-year-old protagonist of this novel has suffered from a stubborn tinnitus since childhood. But that is not the only thing that distresses him. He has little in common with the brusque grandfather who raised him. He misses his mother, often feels alone, and faces rejection from others as well. Increasingly, he retreats into the world of music, which offers him shelter and enables him to find himself. Told from the first-person perspective, this novel has a remarkable and ambitious form. The narrative sections incorporate various other text types: diary entries, text messages, dialogues, song lyrics, and even typographical elements. This makes the storytelling feel fragmented, yet simultaneously rhythmic, multi-voiced, musical, and sonorous. Its heterogeneity is also evident in the different language registers, ranging from concise to laconic to poetic. »Sonautas« is an unusual work of literature for teenagers and young adults that will challenge its readers. [JW]