Daniel Sada (Almost Never) died in 2011, but the prolific Mexican writer left behind many short stories, novels and poems, and Katherine Silver has translated his humorous novella One Out of Two into English for the first time.
"Now, how to say it? One out of two, or two in one, or what?" Constitución and Gloria Gamal are identical twin sisters, and this is their shared identity and life's work. At 13, they were orphaned by a car wreck, but they did not notice for weeks, not until they ran out of food, so consumed were they with one another. Now in their 40s, they dress alike, wear the same makeup and hairstyle; whoever gets up first in the morning gets to choose that day's attire for both. They have practiced the same gestures and mannerisms until they are indistinguishable. They even switch names from day to day. ("Why shouldn't they!") Then a problem challenges the Gamal sisters' contented tricks of identity: one of them meets a man.
Sada's winding, lyrical, frequently abstract language is one of the great joys of this comical, silly and touching story. Of course, the introduction of a suitor raises questions for the twins. Separate or share? But the tension of One Out of Two is related to illusion, deceit and identity, as Constitución and Gloria discover envy and competition for the first time. Sada dances his reader through these conflicts and on to a joyfully droll and loving conclusion. His readers' only regret is that it is over so soon. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia