Introducing Salvador Plascencia's The People of Paper. - - - - To preorder The People of Paper, click here. - - - - A Reader Review of Salvador Plascencia's The People of Paper. - - - - Editor's note: We were so excited about The People of Paper that we sent a few advance copies to loyal McSweeney's readers and asked them to tell us what they thought. We'll be sharing their impressions here over the next several days. - - - - Review 3. BY SUZANNA R. WITZEL - - - - What can you do if a planet won't leave you alone? One possibility is to declare war on it, but if Salvador Plascencia's book The People of Paper is an accurate portrayal of this course of action, success in such a war may not take the form you would expect. The book weaves together the stories of the people that are touched by a man's struggle with the planet Saturn. The threads that make up each character's contribution to the overall story are not treated as superfluous parts of a story that only brush the outcome; instead, each character is given the opportunity to share their part in the battle with a planet in their own words. Even those who are not so sure that a war with a planet should be fought get to tell their part of the tale. Federico's heartbreak is not the only one that is important to the story, so it is only fair that all of those who suffer a similar pain should tell about the struggle against it, and the ones who caused it should explain their side of the story. I found it difficult to put The People of Paper down once I started reading it, because I had no idea where the plot would lead and the words flowed smoothly over one another from the beginning to the end. The People of Paper is a beautifully worded book that describes the ordinary doings of people's lives in a way that makes them seem as fantastic as the plot to which they are a backdrop. It is the closest thing to a true fairy tale I have ever encountered. - - - - Salvador and other McSweeney's writers will be touring soon. To look at the schedule, click here.   MORE ABOUT THE PEOPLE OF PAPER

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