| Tears of the Trufflepig | |
| Author: | Fernando A. Flores |
| Cover Artist: | Na Kim |
| Publisher: | FSG Originals |
| Pages: | 336 pages |
Tears of the Trufflepig is a 2019 novel by writer Fernando A. Flores. Though it is not Flores' first published book, it is his first novel.[1] The novel is set in a future where normal, farmed food is scarce and the rich survive through the use of "filtered" animals and plants, created artificially.[2] "Filtered" animals tend to be extinct taxa, restored to life to serve as food, clothing, or entertainment.[3]
The book takes place in Texas and Mexico at an unspecified point in the future. Disease is common, crime syndicates control most food production, and wealthy collectors have created a market for the shrunken heads of the indigenous people of the Americas.
Flores eschews the use of a computer during writing, preferring to use an Olivetti Lettera 32, and used the typewriter to compose Tears of the Trufflepig.[4] Flores won a $10,000 award for his first book, Death to the Bullshit Artists of South Texas, Vol. 1. The prize allowed Flores to work part-time, giving him an opportunity to focus more on Tears of the Trufflepig than he otherwise would have. The first draft of the book was completed in 2014.[4]
Flores cites Roberto Bolaño's book 2666 as an inspiration, and has referred to the book as "[...] the best border novel of all time".[4] Flores created a nine-song Spotify playlist to accompany the book.[5]
According to literary review aggregator Book Marks, the novel received mostly "Positive" reviews.[6] Kirkus Reviews described the novel as "A dryly philosophical, colorful, and disorienting thriller about grief, survival, and undead animals,"[7] while Publishers Weekly wrote, "Flores’s novel is jam-packed with excitement, but his inability to prioritize his ideas prevents them from cohering into a credible vision of dystopia."[8] Leah Schnelbach writes for Tor.com, "Flores gives us a near-future that is often fun and rollicking, but he’s never afraid to show us the reality that is all-too-close to the world we’re living in right now."[9]