{"id":411162,"date":"2019-01-09T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T15:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/?p=411162"},"modified":"2019-01-09T10:32:37","modified_gmt":"2019-01-09T15:32:37","slug":"four-by-four-by-sara-mesa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/2019\/01\/09\/four-by-four-by-sara-mesa\/","title":{"rendered":"“Four by Four” by Sara Mesa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Below is an excerpt from\u00a0<\/em>Four by Four\u00a0by Sara Mesa, translated by Katie Whittemore<\/a>. To give you a bit of context, I’m including the synopsis that Katie sent us with her original sample:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

The novel is composed of three sections, each written in a distinct narrative voice and style.<\/em><\/p>\n

In Part One, we are introduced to Wybrany College, an isolated boarding school cut off from an increasingly chaotic, violent world in decay. Short, fragmented sections alternate between the first person narration of Celia, a fifteen year old \u201cSpecial,\u201d or scholarship student, and a third person omniscient voice who frequently narrates from the perspective of Ignacio, a younger boy of twelve.<\/em><\/p>\n

Part Two takes the form of 56 diary entries written by Isidro Bedregare, a newly-arrived substitute teacher who is taking the place of the absent profesor Garc\u00eda Medrano.<\/em><\/p>\n

The epilogue, entitled \u201cHeroes and Mercenaries: The Papers of Garc\u00eda Medrano,\u201d is composed, in effect, of Garc\u00eda Medrano\u2019s personal papers, which have come into the hands of the substitute Bedregare. Comprised of short sections\u2014usually just several paragraphs long\u2014depicting life in the \u201cCity,\u201d Garc\u00eda Medrano\u2019s papers also reveal answers to the mysteries suggested in the elliptical first two parts of the novel.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the original Spanish, the prose is marked by suggestion, insinuation, and a sense of unease, as well as allusions to some kind of event or shift in the outside world, a world like our own but existing in its own literary reality. The epilogue, in particular, feels allegorical or fable-like.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mesa is engaged in literary world-building, too, as I should note that the city of C\u00e1rdenas appears in almost all the rest of Mesa\u2019s work, including several of the stories in the collection <\/em>Mala letra. And her first novel, <\/em>An Invisible Fire, relates the last days of the city of Vado, which has become uninhabited and is referenced in the present novel.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Part One<\/strong><\/p>\n

Never More Than Two Hundred<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CELIA<\/strong><\/p>\n

The contour of the landscape bends, yellows, and descends before dissolving in the distance. We are there, at the end, paused and panting under the motionless sky. It\u2019s February and still cold. The air cuts off our breath, attacks Teeny\u2019s lungs. She\u2019s been sick for weeks.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve never made it this far. Our sneakers are soaked from walking in the muddy grass, avoiding the roads.<\/p>\n

We wait for Teeny to catch up and then convene a meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould we eat breakfast now?\u201d Valen asks.<\/p>\n

Her chubby cheeks tremble. Valen is always hungry. The rest of us protest. It\u2019s not time to eat. We\u2019ve only stopped to decide where to continue on from here, from now. There is no time to waste; we\u2019ll eat later, while we walk. Or we won\u2019t eat at all.<\/p>\n

We have two options: climb the hill until we reach the highway or follow the slope down and try to find the river. River is probably an exaggeration. Memory summons a groove, painted brown: a creek, at best. And memory doesn\u2019t reveal its exact location, either. No one has been by here in years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI say we head for the highway. Then we can hitchhike wherever someone will take us.\u201d Marina talks bravely but is chicken when it\u2019s time for action. We\u2019re not convinced.<\/p>\n

I speak up. \u201cHitchhike? Are you crazy? They would bring us right back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe river is safer,\u201d Cristi says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we don\u2019t know where it is!\u201d says Marina.<\/p>\n

Cristi shrugs. Valen tries again, reaching for her backpack. \u201cWe could eat while we decide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think, Teeny?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n

She looks up. Squints. The lenses of her glasses are fogged over. She coughs again. She coughs and blinks endlessly. Her nose runs. She\u2019s full of fluid, Teeny is. I don\u2019t even wait for her to respond. I speak for her: \u201cTeeny doesn\u2019t care what we do as long as we do it quick. Sitting around in this cold is going to kill her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she should eat something,\u201d Valen says.<\/p>\n

\u201cShut up, you greasy fat ass,\u201d Cristi says.<\/p>\n

They fight. First, with insults. Then they throw themselves on the wet ground and roll around, theatrically, half-heartedly. Marina goads them. It\u2019s not clear whose side she\u2019s on. Teeny and I wait. She thinks about nothing and I try to think of everything.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter. I see them coming in the 4×4, up the narrow, dusty path. They\u2019re coming toward us and there we are, stopped, as stopped as time. A stirring of pride: thinking about being told off by the Booty or punished by the Head makes me feel better.<\/p>\n

A quail chirps in the distance. Valen and Cristi get up, brush off their clothes, and look me in the eye. Neither one speaks, but I know they blame me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

IGNACIO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wybrany College, seven in the evening. Ten or twelve boys in gym clothes hang around to see what\u2019s happening. Silence has formed in the courtyard at the school\u2019s entrance. Night is falling and H\u00e9ctor walks escorted by his parents, the Head, and the Advisor. He walks by the boys. As he passes, he lifts his eyes and looks at Ignacio. At him, just him. The look is unmistakable, direct.<\/p>\n

Ignacio shivers. The crunch of steps on the gravel lingers in his ears. He observes him from behind, the head of full, blonde hair, the smooth nape of his neck.<\/p>\n

Only when he\u2019s shaken roughly does he realize that they\u2019ve been grumbling in his ear the whole time, and he hasn\u2019t heard a thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m talking to you, man, can\u2019t you hear me?<\/p>\n

Ignacio nods, craning his neck slightly toward the door through which the New Kid has disappeared.<\/p>\n

The mother\u2014or the woman he assumes is the mother\u2014is outside, closing her umbrella. She has slender calves and iridescent stockings dotted with droplets of drizzle. Lux watches her, too, his head cocked and back arched, ready to flee at the slightest movement.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s November 1st<\/sup>. Ignacio\u2019s birthday: twelve years old and finally the prospect of a friend to protect him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, what do you think of him?\u201d the other boy insists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do I know? I just saw him, is all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he looks queer, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, queer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ignacio senses that the light is different, more yellow, or hazy. He can\u2019t watch and listen at the same time, but they keep at him and their insistence has the echo of a command.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy queer?\u201d the other boy presses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean, why? You said it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but why? Why did you say it, too? What do you know about that?\u201d<\/p>\n

A sad smile dawns on Ignacio\u2019s face. Trapped again, he thinks, but what does it matter now that he will finally have a friend to protect him. The New Kid is tall, he\u2019s strong, and out of all the faces on display there in the courtyard, he chose to look at him.<\/p>\n

The girls\u2019 laughter comes from the other side of the wall, a restless laughter, musical. He yearns for girls, but only as classmates.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he laughs like a girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019ve heard him laugh, have you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore, when he arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore, where?\u201d<\/p>\n

He frees himself from the arm that grabs him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore. Let me go, I have to go to class.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClass? What class? Classes are over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me go,\u201d he begs.<\/p>\n

\u201cSissy, fag, fucking cripple,\u201d the other boy says, releasing him.<\/p>\n

Ignacio hobbles away, in his big shoe with the lift. Laughter screeches at his back.<\/p>\n

Real or imagined, Ignacio hears it all the time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HECTOR\u2019S ORIGINS<\/strong><\/p>\n

But the New Kid\u2019s origins go back to before, weeks before, days before; not that time matters much in this place, where the days so resemble one another. They accumulate, pile up, build on each other, creating an impression of continuity, of movement, or evolution of something.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note, perhaps, that H\u00e9ctor isn\u2019t present on this occasion. Just the mother, or the woman that looks like the mother, and the father\u2014him, for sure\u2014in the Head\u2019s office. They are joined by the assistant head of school, AKA the Booty.<\/p>\n

The office doesn\u2019t look like an office. It\u2019s like a magnificent living room, with its crystal chandeliers and perfectly-worn Persian rugs\u2014so vulgar, if too new\u2014and gleaming floor-to-ceiling windows, the glass spotless, free of flies.<\/p>\n

Seated in leather armchairs around a low table, they speak for a long time with the particular stiffness to which they are accustomed.<\/p>\n

The Booty\u2014who was, in another time, very beautiful\u2014discreetly keeps her distance. Only when necessary does she add an opportune fact, blinking before she speaks. In general, such facts relate to fees, services, and requirements, the details of which the Head is ignorant, given that he delegates this minutia to her.<\/p>\n

The tone of the conversation is sickly-sweet, good taste gone off a bit.<\/p>\n

The office smells of cologne. Which cologne? Impossible to say. A mix of various scents: those worn by the people now present, and by all those who are absent, too. Those who sat where they are now, finalizing the details of their progeny\u2019s matriculation.<\/p>\n

The scent of the select, one could say, if it weren\u2019t an oversimplification, because that\u2019s not exactly how it is. Though one couldn\u2019t claim the opposite, either.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou realize we\u2019re making an exception . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know, we know,\u201d H\u00e9ctor\u2019s father says.<\/p>\n

He moves his hands, accentuating his words, like he did when he was a government minister. A rhetorical underscore, unnecessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be more expensive\u2014due to the exception, as you can imagine\u2014still, you do insist?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we insist, we insist. It\u2019s absolutely necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough it won\u2019t be easy for us, getting rid of the boy,\u201d the woman adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting rid of <\/em>isn\u2019t the right expression,\u201d he says. His eyes flash. He looks at his wife and she goes quiet.<\/p>\n

The Booty smiles at them both. They shouldn\u2019t feel uncomfortable, she says. Language betrays us all. Parents undeniably feel a sense of relief when they enroll their children at the college; it happens to everyone. Bringing up a child is a complicated act of responsibility that demands extreme dedication. There\u2019s nothing wrong with leaving a piece of it in the hands of experts.<\/p>\n

\u201cH\u00e9ctor is a brilliant boy,\u201d the woman continues, speaking cautiously now. \u201cVery intelligent, headstrong, a bit mischievous, maybe. He always finds a way to make his uniform a little bit different: a patch, a hole, a button pinned somewhere. As you know, he needs to do things his way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, but that\u2019s good,\u201d the Head says. \u201cThat\u2019s very good. It speaks of character, strength of character, manliness. We don\u2019t go overboard on rules here. Strict on the fundamentals, flexible on incidentals. Our educational methods are liberal, they\u2019re based in absolute freedom. Will you have some . . .\u201d He stares at Lux, who has just slipped through the bars on the window, \u201c. . . coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n

They drink from little porcelain cups, served with biscuits that they barely nibble. Then they settle everything else: the registration, monthly payments, additional installments. The visitors express their surprise that rooms are shared, but nod sensibly at the explanation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoys on their own, at this age, are hard to control,\u201d says the Booty. \u201cThis way they keep an eye on each other. Spending their free time alone is not to their benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously some boarding schools make private rooms a mainstay of their appeal,\u201d the Head continues, \u201cprecisely because they have nothing else to offer. Special menus, all the latest technology, professional sports facilities, blah, blah, blah . . . They\u2019re only focused on the functional aspects of the issue. We guarantee a sufficient level of material comfort. Not excellent, perhaps, but sufficient. But we also guarantee an extraordinarily high-quality education, which goes far beyond academics. We do not impose discipline: the children impose it on themselves. Rigorous, not rigid. Firm, not harsh. Personalities are sculpted, polished until they shine. The country\u2019s best have passed through here. We know how to shape the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

He carefully cleans his beard with a napkin and waits for a reaction. The couple smiles. They are notably, visibly relaxed.<\/p>\n

An agreement has been reached.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Below is an excerpt from\u00a0Four by Four\u00a0by Sara Mesa, translated by Katie Whittemore. To give you a bit of context, I’m including the synopsis that Katie sent us with her original sample: The novel is composed of three sections, each written in a distinct narrative voice and style. In Part One, we are introduced to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":410972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67486],"tags":[68202,15276,26],"class_list":["post-411162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-2019-translations","tag-excerpts","tag-spain"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411162"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":411702,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411162\/revisions\/411702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}