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May 4, 2022
Fernando A. Flores's Playlist for His Story Collection "Valleyesque"
In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Amy Bloom, Aimee Bender, Roxane Gay, and many others.
In a year notable for brilliant story collections deeply rooted in place, Fernando A. Flores's Valleyesque stands out with its inventiveness and bold, unpredictable storytelling.
Publishers Weekly wrote of the book:
"Flores takes to the elusive and dangerous borderland in his inventive debut collection . . . Using a blend of experimentation and magical realism, this conveys the border’s many sociopolitical shades. The zany set pieces add up to a work with explosive substance."
In his own words, here is Fernando A. Flores's Book Notes music playlist for his story collection Valleyesque:
1. "Tijuana Mushroom (Driving on LSD)" - Healing Gems
2. "Pelo Suelto" - Gloria Trevi
3. "Canción Mixteca" - Harry Dean Stanton
4. "Midnight, the Stars and You" - Deerhoof
5. "Harry Lime Theme" - Anton Karas
6. "What Are Those Things (With Big Black Wings)" - Roger Miller
7. "Kolyskova" - DakhaBrakha
8. "Texas and Pacific Blues" - Frenchy's String Band
9. "Que No Quede Huella" - Bronco
10. "Le tourbillon" - Jeanne Moreau
11. "Ich Bin Von Kopf Bis Fuss Auf Liebe Eingestellt" - William S. Burroughs
Fernando A. Flores was born in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and grew up in South Texas. He is the author of the collection Death to the Bullshit Artists of South Texas and the novel Tears of the Trufflepig, which was long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and named a best book of 2019 by Tor.com. His fiction has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly, American Short Fiction, Ploughshares, Frieze, Porter House Review, and elsewhere. He lives in Austin, Texas.
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