Undoubtedly one of the most unique books written in Spanish at this last turn of the century. And also one of the most beautiful and precise. Like in his previous novel, Yuri Herrera does not “simply” write about Mexico and the border but rather creates his own Mexico through stories and legends of the past and present. And he precisely draws the map of a territory that is even more massive than pre-Colombian cultures, made as much of what is real and earthly as what is underneath and mythological. The person who travels through this territory by way of the nine stages of myths is Makina, a character without comparison in today’s literature who seems extremely true to life, despite living in what is perhaps an underworld. It will only take two pages, or one, of this book: readers won’t be able to put down this fabulous story that tells much more than Makina’s voyage in search of her brother.