Citizen Suárez

John Walker is a professor of Spanish studies at Queen’s University.

Most of the 10 stories in this collection (several of which have
appeared in literary journals) relate the experiences of Latin American
immigrants in Canada or Latin-American Canadians visiting their
birthplace.

“The Necktie Revolution” captures the spirit of death and
revolution in the Argentina of the Perуns. In “The Dream of the
Library,” a young Argentine-Canadian returns to Buenos Aires and
visits the National Library, where he meets the ghost of Borges.
“Letter from Tucumбn” describes the metaphysical malaise of a young
Canadian tourist who is far from home and in need of a therapist. In
“Meteorite,” another Canadian visitor drives south to meet his dead
father’s new partner before embarking on a (final?) pilgrimage to
Morelos, his father’s old Mexican stomping ground. In “Peace in
Ixturria” an exiled professor returns to his Latin homeland to face
the consequences of an uneasy post–civil-war peace.

Verdecchia is equally concerned with the plight of Latin Americans in
Canada. In “Money in the Bank,” a Sandinista boy endures a Canadian
screen test. In “Winter Comes to the Edge of the World,” an
Argentine girl seeks her fortune in Toronto, only to lose her lover and
her baby. “The Several Lives of Citizen Suбrez” chronicles the
struggles of a troubled young son of immigrants.

Verdecchia’s stories are effective in conveying the complexities of
both immigration and return.