Land of Smoke

Translated into English for the first time, this collection of Argentine writer Gallardo’s short stories is a spellbinding look into the work of a virtuoso of magical realism. Gallardo’s writing is deeply rooted in her home country, with stories spanning from the desolate pampas to the frozen heights of the Andes, and includes characters from all rungs of Argentine society. The breadth of her imagination is staggering, and her clean, evocative prose unites the disparate pieces elegantly. In “Things Happen,” an old pensioner wakes to find his home and garden adrift on the ocean, his proud isolation now devastatingly tangible. “The Great Night of the Trains” documents the rebellion of decommissioned trains that come to life and take to the rails in futile protest—a nod to the brutally repressed uprisings of 1969 in Argentina. “But on the Island!” follows two housecats who help organize the escape of a young lion from the zoo, and their brief, doomed foray into freedom. Gallardo clearly takes pleasure in experimentation; though each story carries her voice, they are all playfully diverse in structure and tone, and a delight to read. Admirers of magical realism will find Gallardo’s work a worthy object of attention. [em](July) [/em]