[Translator's preface by Luis R. Díaz Laabes]

Abstract

Trance is a 129-page novel divided in four chapters that can be read as four self-contained stories or as four parts of an over-reaching story arc. These four chapters present four very different stories, each one of a different genre, set in a twisted hyper-realistic version of the Rio Piedras urban zone. Although the stories are different, the events and characters of each chapter intertwine with each other in surprising and often disturbing ways. It also includes a glossary that is a written as a parody of the standard glossaries that are included in other novels. The thesis is a partial translation of the novel. It consists of the glossary and the first two chapters, Dog and Poet.