Slum Virgin
"Queer writing at its most exhilarating." --Times Literary Supplement
The slums of Buenos Aires, the government, the mafia, the Virgin Mary, corrupt police, sex workers, thieves, drug dealers, and debauchery all combine in this sweeping novel deemed a 'revelation for contemporary literature' and 'pure dynamite' (Andrés Neuman, author of Traveller of the Century & Talking to Ourselves ).
When the Virgin Mary appears to Cleopatra, she renounces sex work and takes charge of the shantytown she lives in, transforming it into a tiny utopia. Ambitious journalist Quity knows she's found the story of the year when she hears about it, but her life is changed forever once she finds herself irrevocably seduced by the captivating subject of her article. Densely-packed, fast-paced prose, weaving slang and classical references, Slum Virgin refuses to whitewash the reality of the poor and downtrodden, and jumps deftly from tragedy to comedy in a way that has the reader laughing out loud.
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Silverio Cañada Memorial Prize (Shortlist)
Queer writing at its most exhilarating. --The Times Literary Supplement
Cámara's breakout tale is mind-blowingly good. --Publishers Weekly, starred review
A revelation for contemporary literature. --Andrés Neuman, author of TRAVELLER OF THE CENTURY and TALKING TO OURSELVES
Globetrotting: Your sneak preview of books in translation --New York Times
Cámara has a powerful voice, one to be taken seriously. --Library Journal
Cabezón Cámara's exuberant range of styles truly shines. --Asymptote
Book of the Year 2009. --Rolling Stone (Argentina)
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Praise for Gabriela Cabezón Cámara
International Booker Prize (Shortlist)
A thrilling and mystical miniature epic. --The Guardian
[The Adventures of China Iron] reminds us, in Cabezón Cámara's entrancing poetry, how magical and frankly unpleasant it is to live through history. --New York Times
[The Adventures of China Iron] compels readers to examine critically not only the biases of the myths we celebrate, but also how they seep into our contemporary understandings of nationhood. --LA Review of Books
Brilliantly translated by Fiona Mackintosh and Iona Macintyre, this is a heartfelt, dreamlike paean to Argentina's past and what might have been had the pampas been left alone. --The Times Literary Supplement
Cabezón Cámara's exciting LGBTQ look at pioneers of the pampas makes for a rewarding and subversive treat. --Publishers Weekly
Shaking loose new possibilities for how we might reshape the present precisely by unsettling something seemingly so settled as the past. --Music & Literature
Daring. --The Financial Times
A daring, playful story. --New Statesman
A wonderful reading experience, filled with light, joy, discovery, friendship, and love. --The Massachusetts Review
An unexpected ride that delivers on all accounts. --DIVA Magazine
By disrupting pedagogical nationalist representations, Cámara's story enables all those places in the margins to re-signify constructs of the Argentine people. --Wasafiri
Best books published in Latin America 2017. --New York Times (Español)
A transformative adventure, wholly romantic and sublime, at times even supernatural in its message of discovery. --Books and Bao
A thrilling book that has a little of everything that I look for in a novel. --SubText
10 Best Translated Books 2019 --Books and Bao
Globetrotting: Your sneak preview of books in translation --New York Times
It's moving and intelligent and funny and all of it is fun (so much fun). --Mark Haber, Brazos Bookstore
Best books dealing with feminism, sisterhood and queerness --Pagina/12
With a touch of whimsy, 'The Adventures of China Iron' rewrites a historical narrative and renders spaces inclusive. --Daily Star
Best Books of 2017 --Los inRockuptibles
20 Best Latin American books 2017 --El País
