Slum Virgin - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Gabriela Cabezón Cámara was born in Buenos Aires in 1968. Her debut novel Slum Virgin (Charco, 2017) was followed by Romance de la negra rubia (Romance of the Blonde Brunette ) as well as by two collections of short stories. In 2011 she published the novella Le viste la cara a Dios (You’ve Seen God’s Face ), later turned into a graphic novel, Beya (Biutiful ), illustrated by Iñaki Echeverría. In 2013, she was Writer-in-Residence at the University of California, Berkeley. The Adventures of China Iron , published by Charco Press in 2020, was shortlisted for the International Booker and the Médicis prizes. In addition to being an environmental activist, Cabezón Cámara is one of the leading feminist and LGBTQ+ intellectuals in Latin America. Her most recent novel is We Are Green and Trembling .

Frances Riddle has translated numerous Spanish-language authors including Isabel Allende, Claudia Piñeiro, Leila Guerriero, and Sara Gallardo. Her translation of Theatre of War by Andrea Jeftanovic was granted an English PEN Award in 2020. Her work has appeared in journals such as Granta, Electric Literature , and The White Review , among others. She holds a BA in Spanish Language Literature from Louisiana State University and an MA in Translation Studies from the University of Buenos Aires. In 2022, Frances’ translation of Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. Originally from Houston, Texas she lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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Atoms, molecules whipped into a frenzy by random chance, that’s all life is. This was the kind of profound insight that filled my head out there on the island in the Delta, half-naked and without any of my things, not even a computer, just a little bit of cash and the credit cards I couldn’t use until we left Argentina. My thoughts were rotten: sticks, beer bottles, lily pads, used condoms, crumbling docks and headless dolls, a collage of losses discarded by the tide. I felt like a castaway who’d barely survived a shipwreck. Although I’ve learnt by now that no one ever really survives a shipwreck. The ones who drown end up dead and the ones who are saved spend the rest of their lives drowning.