Only Smoke
Though Mr. Millás is a genial and humorous writer (the translators Thomas Bunstead and Daniel Hahn showcase his conversational style), he is motivated by the imp of the perverse, so the book’s magical elements tend toward the macabre. The fusion of fantasy and metafiction calls to mind Salman Rushdie, but Patricia Highsmith—namechecked in the novel—is another influence. The startling ending of Only Smoke is nasty, vengeful and perfectly happy, a combination that the Brothers Grimm and Highsmith alike would appreciate.
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Millás...uses his trademark 'articuento' writing style to great effect, taking an everyday tale and turning it into a fantasy to create a new understanding of reality. It’s translated, like many of his other works, by the award-winning Hahn and Bunstead ... In this unpredictable, introspective, but lighthearted slim novel, Millás merges reality and fantasy. This wonder of a book can be experienced in one or two sittings and encourages a second reading.
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Disappointing ... The narrative harps somewhat heavy-handedly on the blurred boundaries between reality and fiction ... Millas creates a sense of genuine eeriness, but the conceit doesn’t feel particularly fresh. This lacks the magic of the author’s previous work.
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