"Originally published in Spanish under the title El Espíritu de la ciencia-ficción by Alfaguara, Madrid"--Title page verso.

"Set in Mexico in the 1970s, the novel charts the literary and romantic escapades of two Chilean aspiring writers, employing a range of genres, from epistolary novel to science fiction to satire"-- Provided by publisher.

Mexico, 1970s. Jan and Remo find themselves adrift in Mexico City. Obsessed with poetry, and, above all, with science fiction, they are eager to forge a life in the literary world- or sacrifice themselves to it. The city tugs them in opposite directions. Jan withdraws from the world, shutting himself in their shared rooftop apartment where he feverishly composes fan letters to the stars of science fiction and dreams of cosmonauts and Nazis. Remo runs headfirst into the future, spending his days and nights with a circle of wild young writers, seeking pleasure in the city's labyrinthine streets, rundown cafés, and murky bathhouses. -- adapted from jacket

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