There weren’t that many arrests in our sleepy university town. At night, I worked at the Palo Alto jail where I interviewed arrestees to determine whether they were eligible for release on their own recognizance. I had just graduated from Stanford Law School, and was cramming for the California bar exam during the day.

I began writing this book in the summer of 1980. I became a mystery writer, if not precisely by accident, then not by design. In a brilliant reimagination of The Little Death, Lay Your Sleeping Head retains all the complexity and elegance of the plot of the original novel but deepens the themes of personal alienation and erotic obsession that both honored the traditions of the American crime novel and turned them on their head.īelow is the Nava’s introduction for the new novel, which reveals the history behind the creation of the iconic character Henry Rios. Thirty years ago, The Little Death introduced Henry Rios, a gay, Latino criminal defense lawyer who became the central figure in a celebrated seven novel series. This month, Korima Press is releasing Lay Your Sleeping Head, an imaginative reworking of writer Michael Nava’s classic mystery novel The Little Death. The unlikely pair will marry and through their eyes, and the eyes of their son, Nava tells the story of revolution.Author Michael Nava on Creating the Iconic Gay Character Henry Rios Miguel is a principled doctor racked by guilt while Alicia, disfigured by smallpox, has dedicated her life to helping others.

The story opens in a Mexico City Jail when a young doctor meets the spinster daughter of an aristocratic family. The vast majority of Mexicans are politically powerless and starving. The story takes place in the years before the Mexican Revolution when Mexico is ruled by a group of elite who rule and take everything for themselves. Nava also wrote the standalone historical novel, The City of Palaces. When the man is found dead not too long after, Rios begins an investigation as he believes it was murder and not a drug overdose as the authorities are saying. He starts an affair with the heir to a great California fortune and the man shares with him a story of murder and sexual predation within his family. The story introduces readers to Rios as he struggles with personal and professional problems. Lay Your Sleeping Head is the first book in the Henry Rios series. If You Like Michael Nava Books, You’ll Love…

The little death michael nava