I have before me a man by the name of Gustavo Sánchez Sánchez, also known as Highway. He is the greatest auctioneer in the world. I will do my best to auction to you the story of his life.
Hyperbolic Lot No. 1
Few could say it was a straightforward book. It tells the whole of itself right at the beginning. Fewer still could say it spoils the rest of the story. The lead actor is a man of teeth, idiosyncrasies, and stories. He travels the land collecting anything that can be collected. Fingernail clippings, pens, even stories. The book itself is told in pieces, slowly gathered and sent off to a juice factory in Mexico to be distributed to the workers. And yet here it has made its way back to this library. A story about stories with a story of its own. We'll start the bid at $0.00.
Parabolic Lot No. 1
There once was a great big tree. From it sprung many saplings. The great big tree never paid these saplings much of any mind, as the wind took them away before it could say a word. One of these saplings grew bitter. It was planted a few miles south of the great big tree and when it was grown, it was cut down and turned into an axe handle. The axe was used to cut the great big tree down. But trees grow sideways sometimes.
Circular Lot No. 1
This is a man with 50% more teeth than the average man, on occasion. On others he has 150% less teeth than the average man. He could count to eight in Japanese. He trained under Master Oklahoma and Grandmaster Van Dyke. He can float on his back. What's his name?
Allegoric Lot No. 1
In the morning a refined young woman was walking up a few flights of stairs. Her hand trailed up the handrail. Sticky, from the gum she had pulled off her shoe earlier. She was on her way to work, or more accurately, she was on her way to interview for a new job. She wouldn't end up getting it but she doesn't know that and it doesn't affect our story here.
After the interview the young woman would go to a bakery to reward herself with a freshly baked muffin (of the blueberry variety, as if any other muffin is worth eating). While she eats her muffin, she sees across from her another woman, this one holding a book in one hand a mug in the other. The book is covered with images of teeth, and the title slips around the teeth like a dove through power lines. The young woman thinks to inquire about the strange book, but thinks better of it. She buys a scratch off on her way home. She wins two dollars.
Luiselli, Valeria. The Story of My Teeth. Translated by Christina MacSweeney. Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 2015. Koller-Collins Collection PQ7298.422.U37 H5713 2015
