Strikingly original and captivating prose characterizes Brendan Shay Basham's first novel, Swim Home to the Vanished, a work of literary magical realism. Protagonist Damien is gutted by the recent death of his brother, Kai, which follows the years-earlier disappearance of their parents. Kai is presumed to have drowned, though it takes 30 days for his body to materialize. The power of the loss is literally transformative for Damien: he grows gills behind his ears, and he abandons his existing life as a chef in search of a space that will allow him access to the water that can either heal him or bring him closer to his brother. Grief occupies his every thought and permeates his body.
His migration takes him southward to a village where Carla, the adult daughter from a family of local brujas, is being buried; she was killed by a person or persons unknown. Damien attracts attention by stumbling into the funeral service as he enters the town. Ana María--restaurant owner, grieving mother of the slain woman, and the local matriarch who is feared by the locals and her remaining daughters alike--keeps Damien on a steady and incapacitating diet of mescal, and employs him at the family business. Daughter Marta agitates to bring whatever force Damien still possesses to her side of the equation. When the inevitable storm finally arrives, the brujas' power struggle plays out, and Damien's epic journey takes him, finally, to the sea--in an unforgettable, epic, and poetic resolution. --Elizabeth DeNoma, executive editor, DeNoma Literary Services, Seattle, Wash.