Book Description
In a gripping, atmospheric new novel by acclaimed Mexican writer Daniel Saldaña París, three friends forever bound by erotic flames of the past reunite in a city engulfed by wildfires and an ecstatic dancing plague
After years apart, three high school friends return to Cuernavaca, Mexico, where an intense love triangle once left an indelible mark on their adolescence. The city, surrounded by a ring of claustrophobic wildfires, brings out the past and confronts them with their present: they must once again face the entanglement of friendship and desire, the seemingly distant discovery of sexuality, complex parental relationships, and the daunting task of artistic fulfillment.
In the background, two forces of chaos and destruction are a constant presence. As fires ravage the physical landscape, one of the friends begins choreographing an ecstatic dance inspired by the German expressionist Mary Wigman and medieval Danse Macabre. What starts as a coping mechanism for the anxieties of youth and climate catastrophe becomes an overpowering, all-consuming hysteria. Mysterious powers are awakened, the boundary between reality and myth begins to blur, and the friends find themselves immersed in an increasingly turbulent and uncertain universe.
Praise For This Book
Los Angeles Times, A Best Book of SummerW Magazine, A Best Book of Summer
Library Journal, A Title to Watch
Literary Hub, A Most Anticipated Book of the Year
The Millions, A Most Anticipated Book of the Summer
Our Culture Magazine, A Most Anticipated Book of the Summer
"A kaleidoscopic, erudite, and sweepingly tender novel reminiscent of Sebald, if Sebald was on acid. The Dance and the Fire’s power comes from the ambitious (yet brilliantly compacted) range of its themes—fatherhood, eros, art, judgment, personal and archival aporia—that culminate in a book as capacious, porous, and resonant as history itself." —Ocean Vuong
"Daniel Saldaña París’s new novel, The Dance and the Fire, has everything a reader could want: climate dystopia, hysterical dancing, and a long-standing love triangle . . . As the surrounding landscape succumbs, one friend seeks solace in dance. Inspired by German Expressionism and medieval danse macabre, the performance expands into something more intense than any of them anticipated, fracturing boundaries between the present world and the past, between myth and reality." —Isle McElroy, Vulture
"Saldaña París’ reconstruction of this centuries-old tale feels vibrant and urgent in this age of wildfires and pandemics." —Alejandra Oliva, Americas Quarterly
"The fires provide both a backdrop and a running metaphor. Saldaña París is interested in inflammation and contagion—as in searing pain, easy gossip, sleazy pastors, catching conspiracy, smoldering desire." —Meghan Racklin, The Brooklyn Rail
"The Dance and the Fire is an evocative portrait of sexuality, friendship, and art, amongst a setting of nearby destruction." —Sam Franzini, Our Culture
"[T]he Dance and the Fire brought Saldaña París as much insight into the secrets of his character(s) as it brought me into the search so many of us undertake for the fundamental details of our own stories, details that have been simply misplaced or even buried under the ashes of the past." —Cory Oldweiller, Southwest Review of Books
"In telling The Dance and the Fire through three voices, the story comes at us in compelling bits and pieces defined by the often-pinhole perspectives of each. The stakes, too, are there in the background of these personal dramas—the city seemingly on the brink of explosion, its inextinguishable fires a dread-inducing bass line that won’t let up." —Diana Arterian, Literary Hub
"With The Dance and the Fire, París takes experimental leaps—juxtaposing voices, tones, and literary styles . . . It’s a heady novel of relationships and ideas that has not left me in the months since I first read it." —Willem Marx, Electric Literature
"A smoldering tale of three friends whose erotic and artistic dynamics rouse a Mexican city from its collective slumber." —Sophia Stewart, The Millions
"Poignant and compelling, this lyrical translation of Saldaña París’ depiction of youth foundering into maturity against the backdrop of chaos, hysteria, and destruction is a solid add for all literary collections." —Booklist
"The Dance and the Fire is an eerie, erudite addition to modern folk horror, ideal for fans of Samanta Schweblin's Fever Dream." — Nina Semczuk, Shelf Awareness
"In the evocative latest from Saldaña París (Planes Flying over a Monster), a choreographer’s visionary project shakes a Mexican city out of its collective slumber . . . Saldaña París executes some spellbinding moves . . . This smoldering tale is worth a look." —Publishers Weekly
"Hallucinatory perception, the ephemeral nature of memory, and the intransience of art all come into play in this triptych of confessions from deepest Mexico. Here, Saldaña París leans less on the tragicomedy of the human condition to craft something a little darker and meaner about damaged people turning their hurt inward." —Kirkus Reviews
"The Dance and the Fire is exuberantly strange, dark, and comic; an enthralling ode to Cuernavaca and the modern rebirth of medieval choreomania, as well as a prophecy about what happens when the built-up dread of our world on fire begins to seep into the soul. Daniel Saldaña Paris is an extraordinary talent, and his novel feels both urgent and true." —Lauren Groff
"An absorbing and alarming chimera of a novel in which past meets present, fantasy meets flesh, and individual malaise collides with the woes of a vast and unraveling society. Saldaña París is a deft and clever storyteller." —C. Pam Zhang, author of Land of Milk and Honey
"The Dance and the Fire is a wonder, brimming with hypnotic prose, wildly vivid descriptions, and intimately—and intricately—drawn characters. It’s as explosive as a wildfire, yet as precise and graceful as meticulously crafted choreography. All that remains is to dance." —Isaac Fitzgerlad, author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts
"Saldaña Paris' prose is subtle, and his intelligence diaphanous. But be aware: the characters and the stories that bring them together are ferocious." —Álvaro Enrigue, author of You Dreamed of Empires
