'Piles absurdity upon improbability with gleeful abandon. Yet the book is as much a coruscating parody of Mexican culture as Villalobos's debut, Down the Rabbit Hole, which was shortlisted for the 2011 Guardian first book award ... Quesadillas, translated by Rosalind Harvey, does for magic realism what Down the Rabbit Hole did for "narco-literature" ... The high-keyed domestic comedy is enjoyable for its own sake, but provides cover for a satirical assault on the mendacity of Mexican politics.' Alfred Hickling, The Guardian -------- 'Off the beaten track, Juan Pablo Villalobos followed up his Guardian first book award-shortlisted Down the Rabbit Hole with a satire of Mexican politics and dysfunctional families, Quesadillas (And Other Stories): black comedy done with a light touch, it's stylish, scabrous, and hugely enjoyable.' Justine Jordan, Best Books of 2013, The Guardian -------- 'A raucous picaresque ... structured like a memory, elliptical and episodic ... The novel's irreverent tone and brevity bring to mind the satires of Villalobos's countryman, Jorge Ibarguengoitia; and in its extreme situations and fantastical occurrences we see a concerted attack on literary realism.' Matt Lewis, Times Literary Supplement -------- 'Short, dark, comic, ribald and surreal ... manic-impressive.' Dwight Garner, New York Times -------- 'Villalobos mines Mexico for its everyday surrealism, even as he mocks how outsiders exoticize his country.' Rachel Nolan, New York Times -------- 'Guaranteed to entertain, from its attention-grabbing opening line to its gloriously bizarre climax.' Angel Gurria-Quintana, Financial Times -------- 'This book will deliver a much-needed jolt to the Anglosphere cocooned in its realism-induced narcolepsy.' Neel Mukherjee, author of Man Booker Prize shortlisted The Lives of Others --------'Villalobos has come to stay - and to say loud and clear that in Mexico almost anything is possible.' El Periodico de Catalunya. -------- 'The modern novel's three commands are that it should be "Funny, Brutalist and short", in our hero B.S. Johnson's words. Villalobos' Quesadillas fulfils this perfectly.' Kiko Amat -------- 'Quesadillas is bursting with Villalobos' comic invention.' El Pais -------- 'Excellent satire, absolutely hilarious and smart. This takes on class in Mexico or anywhere for that matter in a really useful way.' Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist and An Untamed State --------

Juan Pablo Villalobos was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1973. His first novel, Down the Rabbit Hole, was the first translation to be shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award (in 2011). He writes regularly for publications including Granta and translated Rodrigo de Souza Leao's novel All Dogs are Blue (also published by And Other Stories) into Spanish. His work has been translated into fifteen languages. He lives in Barcelona and has two children. Quesadillas is his second novel; his third will be published by And Other Stories in 2016.