Sea Monsters: A Novel

Sea Monsters by Olga Aridjis is a captivating tale of a teenage girl's quest for meaning in 1980s Mexico.

Luisa, a 17-year-old high school student, abandons her middle-class upbringing to embark on a journey with a boy she barely knows, Tomás.

They travel to the Pacific coast and become enamored with the idea of tracking down a traveling troupe of Ukrainian dwarfs who recently escaped a Soviet circus touring Mexico.

As Luisa settles in a beach community in Oaxaca, she becomes increasingly obsessed with uncovering the fates of these performers, which fill her surreal dreams.

Meanwhile, her father sets out to find his missing daughter, leading to a mesmerizing portrait of transgression and disenchantment.

With a pulsing soundtrack of Joy Division, Nick Cave, and Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sea Monsters is a brilliantly playful and supple novel that explores the moments and mysteries that shape us.