Natural Histories

Guadalupe Nettel

Chapters (9)

Cover

Cover

Natural Histories

GUADALUPE NETTEL

translated from the Spanish by
J. T. Lichtenstein

Seven Stories Press

NEW YORK • OAKLAND

Title of the original Spanish edition: El matrimonio de los peces rojos

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Seven Stories Press
140 Watts Street
New York, NY 10013
www.sevenstories.com

College professors may order examination copies of Seven Stories Press titles for free. To order, visit http://www.sevenstories.com/textbook or send a fax on school letterhead to (212) 226-1411.

Book design by Elizabeth DeLong

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Nettel, Guadalupe, 1973- author.
[Matrimonio de los peces rojos. English]
Natural Histories / Guadalupe Nettel ; translated by J. T. Lichtenstein.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-60980-551-7 (hardback)
1. Nettel, Guadalupe, 1973---Translations into English. I. Lichtenstein, J. T., 1986 II. Title.
PQ7298.424.E76M3813 2014
863’.7--dc23
2013050804

to Ale Oru and Pelo Pegado

All animals know what it is they need, except for man.

—Pliny the Elder

Man belongs to an animal species that when
injured can become particularly ferocious.

—Gao Xingjian

Contents

The Marriage of the Red Fish

War in the Trash Cans

Felina

Fungus

The Snake from Beijing

About the Author

About Seven Stories Press

The Marriage of the Red Fish

Our last red fish, Oblomov, died yesterday afternoon. I had a feeling he was going to, having barely seen him move in his round fishbowl for some days. He didn’t leap either as he used to for food or to chase the rays of sunlight that brightened his habitat. It was like he was a victim of depression, or its equivalent in the life of a fish in captivity. I came to know very few things about this animal. Very few times I peered through the glass of his bowl and looked him in the eyes and when I did, it wasn’t for very long. It pained me to see him there, alone, in his glass container. I very much doubt he was happy. That’s what most saddened me when I saw him yesterday, floating like a poppy petal on the surface of a pond. He, on the other hand, had more time, more serenity to spend watching Vincent and me. I am sure that in his way he too felt sorry for us. You tend to learn a lot from the animals you live with, even fish. They are like mirrors that reflect the buried emotions and behaviors we don’t dare see.