Valdés, Javier 1953-

views updated

Valdés, Javier 1953-

PERSONAL:

Born 1953, in Mexico City, Mexico.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Mexico City, Mexico.

CAREER:

Writer. Has worked as a dentist.

WRITINGS:

Asesino en serio: Novela, Planeta (Mexico City, Mexico), 2000.

Dias de cementerio: Una Fabula sobre la verdadera riqueza, Suma de Letras (Madrid, Spain), 2006.

Gente como nosotros: Cuentos, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2006, published as People Like Us: Short Stories, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2006.

ADAPTATIONS:

Asesino en serio: Novela was adapted as a film in 2002.

SIDELIGHTS:

Mexican writer Javier Valdés began his career as a dentist, writing short stories during his free time, and while he waited for his patients' anesthesia to take effect. People Like Us, his debut collection of short stories to be translated into English, collects six short works that range from thrillers to erotica to ghost stories. In each story, some type of vice is the driving factor, including drug addiction, alcohol, and sex, manipulating the characters through the action. A contributor for Kirkus Reviews was not impressed by the collection, but acknowledged that the translator might have caused at least part of the problem, commenting: "The language (or translation?) is plodding and cliche-riddled and the stories are pulp dressed as allegory." Mary Margaret Benson, in a review in the Library Journal, called the book a "fiercely funny collection" of stories, all of which are "told seductively with a very dark sense of humor." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly commented that "Valdes is interested in the changeability of the human psyche, but it is difficult to suspend belief as individuals shift from good … to bad."