Doctor Magdalena

By Rosa Martha Villarreal

Subjects: science fiction, allegory, existential, Hispanic literature

Description: Doctor Magdalena Ibarra is a Houston surgeon haunted by the tragic death of her parents in a fire. Burdened by the memory of her father’s sins---a doctor who betrayed the poor Mexican immigrants who trusted him---Magdalena desires forgetfulness. While visiting in Mexico City, she gets lost in the gigantic Mercado de la Merced. She discovers a secret passage where miracles are sold: love, sleep, and oblivion. Inflicted by vertigo, she loses consciousness and awakens in a strange place, the home of the La Doña del Olvido or Lady of Forgetfulness. Is her journey real or hallucination? This postmodern allegory combines science fiction with history and challenges the reader to examine conventional history and reason through the lens of memory and desire.