Set in the author’s native Mexico, Paradais is a short but relentless read about a pair of dispossessed youths, whose all-consuming fury at their place within the social system leads them down a sinister path.

Polo, a 16-year-old dropout is forced to work as a cleaner on the upper-class estate, Paradais. Here, he meets Franco, a rich but deplorable outcast, who Polo uses for free booze and cigarettes, while being forced to listen to Franco’s benign sexual fantasies about his middle-aged neighbour. As the weeks pass, Franco becomes increasingly obsessed with the idea that he can conquer his neighbour, and Polo cannot resist tagging along for the ride.

Written in an all-consuming, modernist style, Paradais immerses the reader in Polo’s thoughts, taking you with him down a spiral of loneliness that can only be filled with alcohol, rebellion, and a bitter nostalgia for his dead grandfather.