The Taiga Syndrome

Translated from the Spanish by Suzanne Jill Levine & Aviva Kana

2020 Longlist

The Taiga Syndrome follows an unnamed Ex-Detective as she searches for a couple who has fled to the far reaches of the earth. A betrayed husband is convinced by a brief telegram that his second ex-wife wants him to track her down – that she wants to be found. He hires the Ex-Detective, who sets out with a translator into a snowy, hostile forest where strange things happen and translation betrays both sense and one’s senses. Tales of Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood haunt the Ex-Detective’s quest into a territory overrun with the primitive excesses of Capitalism accumulation and expulsion, corruption and cruelty – though the lessons of her journey are more experiential than moral: that just as love can fly away, sometimes unloving flies away as well.

About the Author

Cristina Rivera Garza is the award-winning author of six novels, three collections of stories, five collections of poetry, and three non-fiction books. Originally written in Spanish, these works have been translated into English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, and more. She is a distinguished Professor in Hispanic Studies and Director of Creative Writing at the University of Houston.

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