“How to Order the Universe is a dreamscape of a book. In an assured and striking voice, María José Ferrada tells the story of M, a girl who skips school to join her traveling salesman father on the road. Along the way, M witnesses tragedy, desire, secrecy, and grief as she finds her own truths and learns to separate her father’s disappointments from her own. I adored this compelling, wise, and utterly unique coming-of-age tale.”

—TARA CONKLIN, author of The Last Romantics

“Ferrada’s novel has the poetic simplicity and dark wisdom of a fairytale. In it, we experience the machinations of repression during Chile’s dictatorship through the eyes of a seven-year-old girl and, at the same time, through the adult version of this girl, who bears the burden of memory. Over the course of the story, both girl and woman attempt to understand the transience of existence and human connection. Ferrada gifts us with a story that is like an egg: complex in its simplicity, and full of life and mystery. I wanted to hold it close, and with great care.”

—FRANCES DE PONTES PEEBLES, author of The Aír You Breathe