The New York Times bestselling author of the “supernatural tour de force” (M.J. Rose, bestselling author) The Map of Time crafts an enchanting collection of twelve evocative and macabre stories delving into the magical, ordinary, and darker aspects of love in all its powerful forms.
A young girl receives letters from her lost doll; a cat madly in love with her human neighbor; a bored office worker escapes his monotonous life by traveling on his grandfather’s model train; a man gives all of himself to the woman he loves, piece by piece.
These are just a few of the unforgettable characters that inhabit Félix J. Palma’s gorgeously wrought short story collection, by turns mesmerizing, morbid, and melancholy. This collection contains selections from three previously published anthologies, bringing together in one volume some of Palma’s most celebrated stories. Available for the first time in English and with his signature “lyrical storytelling and a rich attention to detail” ( Library Journal ), The Heart and Other Viscera explores the wonder, madness, and heartbreak of love, and the lengths to which some are willing to go to protect, honor, and cherish the ones they love. **
Review
Praise from press in Spain for Félix J. Palma's short stories "Palma's love of fantasy is no mere exercise in escapism nor a clever game of mirrors, but a way of intuiting the world by freeing oneself from rationalism. His stories demonstrate a perfect tension between poetry, tenderness, and humor."--El Mundo
"[Palma's] works are infused with gifted ideas, unforgettable imagery and reflections that haunt you long after you've finished the last page. An author of deliciously disquieting short stories."--La Razón
"An amalgam of perfect style, astonishing imagery, and unsettling narrative to chart a disturbing world."--ABC Cultural
"Meticulous, disconcerting and inspired, Palma exemplifies the very best of short fiction being written in Spanish today."--Muface
Praise for The Map of Time " The Map of Time recalls the science fiction of Wells and Verne, and then turns the early masters on their heads. A brilliant and breathtaking trip through metafictional time."--Scott Westerfeld, New York Times bestselling author
" The Map of Time is a singularly inventive, luscious story with a core of pure, unsettling weirdness. With unnerving grace and disturbing fantasy, it effortlessly straddles that impossible line between being decidedly familiar, and yet absolutely new."--Cherie Priest, author of Boneshaker
"Strange and wonderful. Magical and smart. Félix J. Palma has done more than written a wonderful novel, he's concocted a supernatural tour de force. Time travel, tragic love, murder, and mystery all combine in what is nothing short of a surprising, satisfying, and mesmerizing read."--M.J. Rose, New York Times bestselling author
"A big, genre-bending delight."--The Washington Post
"Palma makes his U.S. debut with the brilliant first in a trilogy, an intriguing thriller that explores the ramifications of time travel in three intersecting narratives."--Publishers Weekly (starred)
"Lyrical storytelling and a rich attention to detail make this prize-winning novel an enthralling read."--Library Journal (starred)
About the Author
Félix J. Palma has been acclaimed by critics as one of the most brilliant and original storytellers of our time. His devotion to the short story genre has earned him more than a hundred awards. The Map of Time , his first book published in the United States, was an instant New York Times bestseller and received the prestigious 2008 Ateneo de Sevila XL Prize. It has been published in more than thirty countries. Along with The Map of Time Trilogy, he is also the author of The Heart and Other Viscera. Palma lives in Spain. Please visit FelixJPalma.es.