The latest addition to my website is yet another Latin American novel that has not been translated into English (or any other language) – Miguel Gutiérrez‘ El mundo sin Xóchitl [The World Without Xochitl]. It deals with a subject which, while not unknown to the modern novel is less common than it might be – incest (see this list for some examples). Wenceslao and Xóchitl are eleven months apart. Their mother is dead, their seventy year old father resents them and leaves them to their own devices so they do everything together, including sharing the same bed. But this novel is not pornographic or even erotic. While they frequently declare their undying love for one another and continually show signs of affection, Gutiérrez does not show them having sex, so everything is left to our imagination (and the imagination of their father, who catches them in bed together). It is very well told, as he gradually develops the relationship over their childhood, while having the story told by Wenceslao as an adult. Sadly, none of Gutiérrez’ work has been translated into another language.