“The Test” by José Alcántara Almánzar

Abstract

This is my second translation of a story by the Dominican author José Alcántara Almánzar published in Delos, the other one, “Enigma,” having appeared in vol. 34.1. “Enigma” proved challenging because not only are there passages that use both the first person and the third person, but the third person is sometimes the voice of the protagonist describing her husband, and at other times that of an omniscient narrator. The end result is that the narrative voice of the wife, which sometimes speaks very colloquially, at other times is more poetic. It is also worth noting the absence of quotation marks or separate lines for the dialogue in this story. The absence of these conventions contributes to the creation of an atmosphere of alienation.