The following is from Yuri Herrera’s Ten Planets . Born in Actopan, Mexico, Herrera is the author of three novels, including Signs Preceding the End of the World, which was one of the Guardian’s “100 Best Books of the 21st Century” and won the Best Translated Book Award. He teaches at Tulane University in New Orleans. On the way to the scene of death, the obituarist groused about fucking invisibility: Fucking invisibility; as if I didn’t know that this empty street, just like every empty street in every other city, is teeming with people. The only ones who could be seen were the ones whose jobs required public visibility: delivery people, plumbers, painters, etceteras. They got badges, and when they put them on, became what they had to be and only what they had to be: delivery person, plumber, painter, etcetera, each covered by a neon silhouette. The rest wandered about unseen, protected by a buffer that blocked images, sounds, odors, keeping their bodies at a distance. Which meant that, walking down a deserted street, you’d bump into soft lumps that knocked you gently from side to side. Only in the heaviest congestion could people’s contours be seen and thus avoided, but there was never any need to see faces or expressions, feel bones or fat. Ever. The buffer served as a laissez-passer, allowing travel, and owners could take them off only indoors. Yeah, big deal, the obituarist muttered, as he did each day: He could still sense them […]

Click here to view original web page at “The Obituarist”

© 2023, wcadmin. All rights reserved, Writers Critique, LLC Unless otherwise noted, all posts remain copyright of their respective authors.

0 Reviews ( 0 out of 0 )

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe, born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of t...

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman, an iconic figure in American literature, was born on May 31, 1819,...

Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury, born in Waukegan, Illinois, in 1920, is a towering figure in Ameri...

Gertrude Stein

In the heart of Paris, amidst the buzz of avant-garde creativity, Gertrude Stein...

Ploughshares

Discovering Ploughshares: An Online Haven for Writers Ploughshares, an esteemed ...

AGNI

© 2024, wcadmin. All rights reserved, Writers Critique, LLC Unless otherwis...

Tin House

© 2024, wcadmin. All rights reserved, Writers Critique, LLC Unless otherwis...

TriQuarterly

© 2024, wcadmin. All rights reserved, Writers Critique, LLC Unless otherwis...

Apex Magazine

© 2024, wcadmin. All rights reserved, Writers Critique, LLC Unless otherwis...

Granta

© 2024, wcadmin. All rights reserved, Writers Critique, LLC Unless otherwis...

Narrative Magazine

© 2024, wcadmin. All rights reserved, Writers Critique, LLC Unless otherwis...

The Rumpus

© 2024, wcadmin. All rights reserved, Writers Critique, LLC Unless otherwis...

Chat Icon Close Icon
A note to our visitors

This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with changes to European Union data protection law, for all members globally. We’ve also updated our Privacy Policy to give you more information about your rights and responsibilities with respect to your privacy and personal information. Please read this to review the updates about which cookies we use and what information we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated privacy policy.

small c popup

Let's have a chat

Get in touch.

Help us Grow.

The shortcode is missing a valid Donation Form ID attribute.

Join today – $0 Free

Days :
Hours :
Minutes :
Seconds