Adam in Eden

Adam Gorozpe, a successful Mexico City lawyer who married into wealth, finds himself and his own life fascinating. His musings focus on himself, his wife, his in-laws, his mistress, and the nemesis—Mexico's chief of public security, also named Adam—who is cuckolding him. There's political intrigue as the other Adam attempts to dethrone our narrator; there's the gloom of drugs, violence, and corruption in his despoiled country; there are mysteriously significant comets; and there are hints of an anatomical anomaly on his own body. These tidbits, related via Adam's energetic running mental commentary, comprise the plot, encouraging listeners to stick with it by nudging them to wonder what's next, what it all can mean. Some reviewers have described the work as comic, but satire or fable are more apt characterizations. Published in Spanish in 2009, this was the last novel by Fuentes, one of Mexico's most highly regarded writers. American Audie Award winner Robert Fass uses vocal depth and texture to become Adam, making the listener forget the presence of an actor.