May 2023 MBR The LGBT Fiction Shelf

The LGBT Fiction Shelf

Trash
Sylvia Aguilar Zeleny, author
J. D. Plucker, translator
Deep Vellum Publishing
https://store.deepvellum.org
9781646052202, $15.95, PB, 168pp

https://www.amazon.com/Trash-Sylvia-Aguilar-Z%C3%A9leny/dp/164605220X

Synopsis: With the publication of "Trash", author Sylvia Aguilar Zeleny interweaves the voices of three women with lived connections to the municipal garbage dump of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Aguilar Zeleny reveals the complexities of survival and joy, love and violence a teenager abandoned by her guardian at the dump, a scientist doing research on the residents of the dump, and a transwoman living nearby who is the matriarch of a group of sex workers.

Each one of these three characters must navigate through family, abandonment, power, jealousy, greed, and multiple taboos around sexuality and gender violence. Their separate life stories are linked by geography and by ideas of waste and abandonment.

As Sylvia Aguilar Zeleny explores these territories in her novel, she asks crucial questions: who is seen as disposable and why? How do women find their own means of survival and joy in the midst of a perilous sociopolitical context? What does it mean to live a life in a time of austerity and extreme violence?

Critique: A critical intervention in Mexican literature and ably translated into English for an American readership by J. D. Pluecker, "Trash" showcases author Sylvia Aguilar Zeleny genuine flair for an eloquently impressive and narrative driven storytelling style that fully engages her readers from first page to last. Also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99), this is one of those original novels that will linger in the mind and memory long after the book itself is finished and set back upon the shelf. "Trash" is a fine addition to personal reading lists, as well as community, and academic library LGBTQ literary fiction collections.

Editorial Note #1: Sylvia Aguilar Zeleny received her MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Texas at El Paso. She is the author of four short-story books and a young adult novel series. Her novel Todo Eso Es Yo won the National Book Award in Tamaulipas, Mexico in 2015, and was republished as The Everything I Have Lost (Cinco Puntos Press, 2020) as a rewriting in English. Her work has been included in anthologies in Mexico, the United States, Australia, Peru, and South Korea. She has also given conferences and participated in various panels addressing the work of women writers of Latin America, as well as panels on teaching bilingual creative writing and/or teaching fiction to first or second generation students.

Editorial Note: J. D. Pluecker (https://jdpluecker.com/about) has translated numerous books from the Spanish, including Gore Capitalism (Semiotext(e), 2018), Ant¡gona Gonzalez (Les Figues Press, 2016), and Writing with Caca by Luis Felipe Fabre (Green Lantern Press, 2021). Their book of poetry and image, Ford Over, was released in 2016 from Noemi Press. JD is a recipient of the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writing Grant and has exhibited work at Blaffer Art Museum, the Hammer Museum, Project Row Houses, and more.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview (dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price).

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review