Book Synopsis

These lively and eclectic narratives, by the author of Shadow Without a Name, move from the scorching heat of the Gobi desert to the glacial heights of Mount Everest: here, among others, are the stories of a Scottish engineer who builds an exact replica of the city of Edinburgh in the dunes; of a dying, cross-dressing pilot who allegedly climbs Mount Everest and then mysteriously disappears; and of a monk who conjures the devil to prove the devil's existence.
Based on history, legend, and an awe-inspiring power of invention, Antipodes delights, terrifies, and entrances.

Review Quotes

"A writer of outstanding gifts." --Barry Unsworth, The New York Times Book Review

"Told with irony and zest...All seeming antipodes...are right at home and perfectly natural in Padilla's realm, making for a rich, complex texture against which he weaves his spell." --Los Angeles Times

"Defiantly cosmopolitan...Padilla is a potent voice in Latin American literature today." --The Miami Herald

"Spans time and place as the story moves from one colorful character to another." --Hispanic

"One of Mexico's foremost young writers presents a handful of eclectic modern-day fables...His stories, placed within history, tell of colonialism gone amok, of spirituality gone awry, bringing a beautiful, surreal narrative to the ways our history has been shaped." --Booklist

About the Author

Ignacio Padilla was born in Mexico City and is the author of numerous award-winning novels and short-story collections. Shadow Without a Name was the first of his works to be translated into English.