protean depravity

Juan Martinez is an English professor at Northwestern University and the author of the short story collection Best Worst American as well as the Weird fiction work Extended Stay , his debut novel, which tackles themes such as undocumented Latinx experiences in the USA and living and working conditions under capitalism. Extended Stay was published in January 2023 by University of Arizona Press. I'm very grateful to have a chance to chat with him about his work.

  It's truly crazy how fast this year went past. And although we were spared most of the dreaded catastrophes on the bigger scale, on a personal level this year has taken a toll on me - it was a rough year, to say the least. After watching my father, my best friend, and numerous good friends who returned to their own countries after the pandemic disappear from my life and the jarring legalities and heritage ugliness, I was very thankful to be able to at least travel in the summer to think about things, to soothe the hurt and confusion some.

A place changes you – a city, a neighborhood, a hotel. A story. You arrived to each with your own fear, your own hunger, and you found yourself taking on the cast and the appetite of where you were. You couldn’t help it. About one third into Extended Stay I was confused and not sure what Martinez was trying to do here. The half-hypnotic, half-psychedelic narration. The dream-like atmosphere. Confusion. A main character as detached from his reality as he was from his readers. Helpless, directionless, sometimes mean, sometimes aggressive, sometimes opportunistic, sometimes indifferent. An environment teeming with, literally leaking hostility. It really felt like reading a dream, or rather a nightmare-diary. And I didn't like how it affected me, it didn't feel like a kind of fiction I enjoy reading.