The Bottom of the Sky

Fresán (The Invented Part) harnesses offbeat aspects from the golden age of science fiction for this tale that muddies boundaries between art and life. At its heart is the story of two boys seeking to escape reality through their love of SF, and the mysterious girl who drifts into their orbit. Fresán describes the work as “a clump of simultaneously broadcast messages, like a story line that wants nothing but to be a succession of marvelous moments seen all at the same time.” His writing fulfills this promise. The shifting points of view gradually build a tale that explores escapism and camaraderie. This is not an easy story to read; it’s an immersive, stream-of-consciousness account full of irony and sardonic humor. Fresán delivers an impressively slow-building, intense narrative with an esoteric love triangle and Philip K. Dick–inspired fever dreams at its center. (May)