" Perpetual?West ?is an ambitious novel rendered in striking, sensual prose. Maren creates a vivid, precise, and complex sense of place; she shows us how cultural?and physical geography shape who we are, what we do, and how the world understands us."? ?Dana Spiotta, author of? Wayward?? The riveting, brilliant new novel by the critically-acclaimed author of Sugar Run , Perpetual West is a brilliant?and evocative story of borders?between the United States and?Mexico, between lovers, and?between facets of the self. When Alex and Elana move from smalltown?Virginia to El Paso, they are just?a young married couple, intent on a?new beginning. Mexican by birth but?adopted by white American Pentecostal parents,?Alex is hungry to learn about the place?where he was born. He spends every free moment?across the border in Ju?rez?perfecting?his Spanish, hanging with a collective of young?activists, and studying lucha libre (Mexican?wrestling) for his graduate work in sociology.?Meanwhile Elana, busy fighting her own demons,?feels disillusioned by academia and has?stopped going to class. And though they are?best friends, Elana has no idea that Alex has?fallen in love with Mateo, a lucha libre fighter. When Alex goes missing and Elana can?t?determine whether he left of his own accord?or was kidnapped, it?s clear that neither of?them has been honest about who they are.?Spanning their journey from Virginia to Texas?to Mexico, Mesha Maren?s thrilling follow-up?to Sugar Run takes us from missionaries to?wrestling matches to a luxurious cartel compound,?and deep into the psychic choices that?shape our identities. A sweeping novel that?tells us as much about our perceptions of the?United States and Mexico as it does about our?own natures and desires, Perpetual West is a?fiercely intelligent and engaging look at the?false divide between high and low culture, and?a suspenseful story of how harrowing events?can bring our true selves to the surface.