Research the biography of screen star Rita Hayworth. How does this factual biography differ from the story Plascencia tells in the novel regarding Rita? What does this partially fabricated biography contribute to the novel’s exploration of the relationship between fiction and reality?

What is the narrative role of Baby Nostradamus in the novel? How does his purported ability to see the future threaten Saturn’s power as author/narrator? What effect does it have that his columns are blacked out and unreadable?

In what ways do the experiences of Little Merced, Froggy, and Federico de la Fe reflect the reality of life in the US-Mexico borderlands? How does the text use magical realism to draw attention to what is illogical, absurd, or “unreal” in the political reality of the border?