The King Is Always Above the People: Stories

One of the stories that Daniel Alarcón shares in this collection, “República and Grau,” features a blind beggar and a young boy who joins him to beg for money to supplement the family income. The boy changes his appearance, his mannerisms, all to make more money on the street corner. In “The Provincials,” Nelson pretends to be his more successful brother, turning pretense into personality, losing himself, and eventually, the people around him, too. What changes do we make to who we are in order to get more, be more? Who are we, really, when we continually shift ourselves based on where we are and who we are with? Questions Alarcón leaves us with; questions that are almost impossible to answer.

(originally published on inthemargins.ca)