MY NAME IS VICTORIA: THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF ONE WOMAN'S STRUGGLE TO RECLAIM HER TRUE IDENTITY
Victoria Donda
Translated from the Spanish by Magda Bolin
Argentina's coup d'état in 1976 led to one of the bloodiest dictatorships in its history—thirty thousand people were abducted, tortured, and subsequently "disappeared." And hundreds of babies born to pregnant political prisoners were stolen from their doomed mothers and "given" to families with military ties or who were collaborators of the regime. Analía was one of these children, raised without suspecting that she was adopted. At twenty seven, she learned that her name wasn't what she believed it to be, that her parents weren't her real parents, and that the farce conceived by the dictatorship had managed to survive through more than two decades of democracy.
In My Name is Victoria, it is no longer Analía, but Victoria who tells us her story, in her own words: the life of a young and thriving middleclass woman from the outskirts of Buenos Aires with strong political convictions. Growing up, she thought she was the black sheep of the family with ideas diametrically opposed to her parents'. It wasn't until she discovered the truth about her origins and the shocking revelation of her uncle's involvement in her parents' murder and in her kidnapping and adoption that she was able to fully embrace her legacy. Today, as the youngest member of congress in Argentina, she has reclaimed her identity and her real name: Victoria Donda. This is Victoria's story, from the moment her parents were abducted to the day she was elected to parliament.
Other Press, paperback, 9781590514047
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THE HOUR OF THE STAR (2ND EDITION)
Clarice Lispector
Translated from the Portuguese by Giovanni Pontiero
A new edition of Clarice Lispector's final masterpiece, now with a vivid introduction by Colm Tóibín. Narrated by the cosmopolitan Rodrigo S.M., this brief, strange, and haunting tale is the story of Macabéa, one of life's unfortunates. Living in the slums of Rio and eking out a poor living as a typist, Macabéa loves movies, Coca-Colas, and her rat of a boyfriend; she would like to be like Marilyn Monroe, but she is ugly, underfed, sickly and unloved. Rodrigo recoils from her wretchedness, and yet he cannot avoid the realization that for all her outward misery, Macabéa is inwardly free/She doesn't seem to know how unhappy she should be. Lispector employs her pathetic heroine against her urbane, empty narrator—edge of despair to edge of despair—and, working them like a pair of scissors, she cuts away the reader's preconceived notions about poverty, identity, love and the art of fiction. In her last book she takes readers close to the true mystery of life and leave us deep in Lispector territory indeed.
Clarice Lispector (1925-1977), the author of such works as Near to the Wild Heart, The Hour of the Star, and The Passion According to G. H., is the internationally acclaimed novelist and short-story writer from Brazil.
New Directions, paperback, 978-0811219495 (October)
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MY HEART FLOODED WITH WATER: TRANSLATIONS FROM THE POETRY OF ALFONSINA STORNI
Alfonsina Storni
Translated by Orlando Ricardo Menes
Alfonsina Storni (1892-1938) is considered one of the most prominent voices in Latin American poetry of the twentieth century, and among women poets, second only, perhaps, to the Nobel laureate Gabriela Mistral. From the start of her literary career the Argentine Storni raised eyebrows for her controversial feminism, her indomitable honesty, and her barbed wit. Indeed she took on the role of enfant terrible with gusto, displaying a gleeful propensity for mockery and impish behavior. By the late 1920's and early 1930's, Storni was undoubtedly an established poet of considerable prestige and immense popularity. Her readings were attended by hundreds of adoring fans who not only purchased her books but also learned her poems by heart. She was a literary phenomenon most comparable perhaps to the American Edna St. Millay, with whom she shared, among other things, an urbane irony and a defiant yet ludic feminism. In 1935 Storni was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer. Her summers were spent on the seashore of Mar de Plata, an inspirational setting for many of her nature poems of this period. Though she was surely haunted by the specter of death, Storni galvanized the discipline and will to complete her last book of poems Mascarilla y trebol (Mask and Clover), which many critics judged to be her crowning achievement.
Latin American Literary Review Press, paperback, 9781891270512
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OCOTILLO DREAMS
Melinda Palacio
Set in Chandler, Arizona, during the city's infamous 1997 migrant sweeps, Ocotillo Dreams is no run-of-the-mill border tale. In her captivating first novel, Melinda Palacio skillfully weaves a story of politics, intrigue, love, and trust. Isola, a young woman who inherits her mother's Chandler home, relocates from California only to find that her mother had lived a secret life of helping undocumented immigrants. Isola must confront her own confusion and sense of loyalty in a strange and hostile environment. As she gets to know her mother from clues left behind, she grapples with questions of identity and belonging that eventually lead her to explore her life's meaning and to reconnect with her roots.
Bilingual Review Press, paperback, 9781931010764
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TREE OF SIGHS
Lucrecia Guerrero
After the sudden and tragic death of her parents, Altagracia faces an uncertain future with a bitter and secretive grandmother. When the two sink into poverty, the young girl ends up with a cruel woman who takes her to the United States, changes her name to Grace, and puts her to work as a full-time domestic servant. Tree of Sighs is the story of Grace's journey to uncover her past as she straddles two cultures in the search for her own identity. After escaping servitude and imprisonment, Grace endures life on the streets and a succession of jobs, and she eventually lands in a comfortable marriage. But a phone call from a person in her past sets her on a journey to the border, where she meets a man who holds the key to her past, learns the truth about her grandmother, and ultimately finds herself.
Bilingual Review Press, paperback, 9781931010740
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