The Dance and the Fire
“A kaleidoscopic, erudite, and sweepingly tender novel reminiscent of Sebald, if Sebald were on acid. The Dance and the Fire’s power comes from the ambitious (yet brilliantly compacted) range of its themes—fatherhood, eros, art, judgment, personal and archival aporia—that culminate in a book as capacious, porous, and resonant as history itself.”
—Ocean Vuong
“The Dance and the Fire is exuberantly strange, dark, and comic: an enthralling ode to Cuernavaca and the modern rebirth of medieval choreomania, as well as a prophecy about what happens when the built-up dread of our world on fire begins to seep into the soul. Daniel Saldaña París is an extraordinary talent, and his novel feels both urgent and true.”
—Lauren Groff
“Saldaña París’s prose is subtle, and his intelligence diaphanous. But be aware: the characters and the stories that bring them together are ferocious.”
—Álvaro Enrigue, author of You Dreamed of Empires
“An absorbing and alarming chimera of a novel in which past meets present, fantasy meets flesh, and individual malaise collides with the woes of a vast and unraveling society. Saldaña París is a deft and clever storyteller.”
—C. Pam Zhang, author of Land of Milk and Honey
“The Dance and the Fire is a wonder, brimming with hypnotic prose, wildly vivid descriptions, and intimately—and intricately—drawn characters. It’s as explosive as wildfire, yet as precise and graceful as meticulously crafted choreography. All that remains is to dance.”
—Isaac Fitzgerald, author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts