Signs Preceding the End of the World

Signs Preceding the End of the World is a 2009 novel by Mexican author Yuri Herrera. The novel examines personal and geopolitical issues concerning the United States-Mexico border, although it does not mention these nations by name, referring instead to North and South. Herrera is a writer, professor, and political scientist, currently teaching at the University of New Orleans. Herrera’s first novel, Kingdom Cons, won the Premio Binacional de Novela Joven Frontera de Palabras (Border of Words Binational Award for Young Novels). 

This guide follows the 2015 paperback English translation of Signs Preceding the End of the World published by And Other Stories.

Content Warning: This guide contains references to strong language, violence, sexual harassment, and racism, which are discussed in the source text.

Plot Summary

The novel begins with protagonist Makina nearly being killed by a sinkhole in Little Town. She has been sent by her mother, Cora, to deliver a note to her brother who disappeared after going to the North three years before. Makina visits the “top-dogs” of the village—Mr. Double-U, Mr. Q, and Mr. Aitch—to secure help crossing the border and coming back. Mr. Aitch agrees to help her if she smuggles a package across the border for him. 

Makina leaves for the border. She avoids the chaos of Big Chilango and takes a bus to a border town. On the bus, a young man attempts to grope her; she nearly breaks his finger, teaching him not to disrespect women. Once in the border town, Makina helps others by offering translations. She also saves the young man from the bus and his friend from being exploited by coyotes. 

At sunrise, Makina meets Chucho, who is employed by Mr. Aitch to help her cross the border. They cross the river in an inner tube. Makina falls through and is pulled under, but Chucho drags her to safety. On the other shore, they are pursued by an Anglo vigilante. They have a standoff until the police arrive. Makina escapes the conflict, but she is shot as she flees, though the wound is shallow.  

Makina finds a truck waiting to take her to a Northern city. Once there, an old man directs her to a baseball stadium, where Mr. P, a top-dog who is living in exile, and his henchmen await her. She delivers the package and leaves, mistrustful of Mr. P’s intentions.

Makina wanders in the freezing Northern town. Exhausted, she comes across the boy from the bus working in a kitchen. He introduces her to an old woman who tells her that her brother has gone to work for an Anglo family. When Makina gets there, however, she finds that the Anglo family is gone, and a Black man now lives there. He tells her that the family has left the country, but the oldest son stayed behind; he is in the military.

Dismayed, Makina goes to the military base and inquires about the Anglo soldier. To her surprise, she meets her brother. The Anglo family promised him money to enlist in their son’s place. However, when he returned from his tour of duty, they had failed to raise the funds to pay him. Instead, the family let Makina’s brother keep their son’s identity. Her brother wants to stay in the North to find out what he had been fighting for. Feeling like her heart has been ripped out, Makina leaves. 

As she flees from the barracks, Makina is accosted by a police officer who puts her in a lineup of other Southerners he has rounded up. One of the men has a book; the officer rips out a page and demands that he write about why he has been detained. Makina takes the paper from the man and writes a scathing monologue about how her countrymen and women are both relied on and discriminated against in the North. After reading it aloud, the officer lets them go. 

Makina runs into Chucho at a park. He commiserates with her about the strangeness of Northern society and then leads her back into town to a staircase that leads down into darkness. Chucho tells Makina that she’ll be taken care of inside, then he leaves. Makina descends the stairs. She is greeted by an old woman, who hands her a cigarette and ushers her into a dark room with no windows, full of other people smoking. A tall, thin man hands her a folder containing paperwork for a new identity. Makina is scared at first, feeling as though her old identity has been stripped away from her. She soon realizes that there is nothing to fear and is ready to embrace her new life.