You Dreamed of Empires

"It’s like reading a fever dream: it’s short and sharp but there is so much meticulous, intricate, almost psychedelic detail on every page. The entire book is set across a single day, and you are completely and totally submerged in it. There is plenty of satire as well – a dark humour, which I think shows how much Enrigue enjoyed reimagining this moment, transforming it to something most Mexicans wish had happened. I loved this novel, and it was a massive inspiration for me when writing The Other Moctezuma Girls . I think the genre reflects something we long for, or something we fear, which are honest feelings. The best fiction , including stories that imagine alternative history, is based on emotional truth. When you write a story which resonates with another human being, it uncovers our shared humanity, and that is a powerful thing."