The Mutations

The Mutations is a deeply neurotic comedy that dissects the experience of illness and maps the relationships strengthened and frayed in its wake. Following the story of Ramón Martinez, a militant atheist and successful lawyer who loses the source of his power and livelihood - speech - after being diagnosed with cancer of the tongue, this book is a profound and funny cross section of modern Mexico. Filled with rough-hewn poetry of regret, rage, and, finally, resignation, The Mutations pays homage to forebears such as Sontag, Didion, Flaubert, and Tolstoy.