29 Ways to Drown

Influenced by a Latin American literary tradition steeped in magic realism, but embracing a personal history that has included living in Chicago, Cadiz, Guayaquil and London, this collection of short stories reveal a writer with an incredible range, humour and balance.

Niki Aguirre’s stories convey a gritty, often scientifically-sophisticated world with a touch of surrealism. Shamans parade the pages side-by-side with lovesick film buffs, papers and humans fly at will, and intellectual and professional quests lead to self-destruction.

Whether it is a boy trapped at age fourteen after a botched attempt to capture time, an organic seed distributor entrapping an errant lover with a replica pre-Columbian artefact, or a woman attempting to drown herself in a water aerobics class in London, these stories grip by their absolute logic and the sheer absurdity of the inevitable truths they unravel.

Read an excerpt