The Guilty Ones— Juan Villoro

"The Culprits" is Juan Villoro's best and most daring book of short stories. After becoming accustomed to his original and devastating style, Villoro renews his prose to explore different oral registers of the unpredictable and complex individuals that Mexicans can be. The reader will not find more stimulating tales than these, which take off at great speed, where the turbulences are calculated to increase the emotion. A ranchera singer celebrity, a declining soccer player, a screenwriter who buys a typewriter without ñ's, and an iguana that gets lost at critical moments are some of the beings that populate Villoro's new stories. The concentration of humor and tension in these pages is very high. A total of six admirable short stories and a novella, where the protagonists are found at the highest point of their conflict, whether they decide to commit murder, betray a friend, or film a nude that could ruin their career. The piece that tops off the book is "Amigos Mexicanos," a thrilling novella about express kidnappings that threaten the inhabitants of Mexico City. A true lesson in writing, "The Culprits" demonstrates that Villoro is at the peak of his narrative art. His stories last the same time as a vital confession dictated in a few essential words. A book that ends up being read over and over again, always with greater admiration.