Seven Stunning Latin American Novels
Literature in translation has been enjoying its moment for a while now, and we’ve been struck by the quality of some Latin American literature in the past decade. We decided to select a few for your reading pleasure this week.
Samantha Schweblin - Fever Dream, 2017
A taut, unsettling real world ghost story, Samantha Schweblin’s book is about a woman dying in a rural hospital next to a boy who is not her son. But it is also about the trauma that has landed her there, about their reality and much more. Touching on themes of environmental destruction, parental anxiety and nature itself, it’s a novel that is true to its title and will haunt you.
Gabriela Cabezon Camara - The Adventures of China Iron, 2020
This novel is a retelling of Argentina’s foundational gaucho epic, told from the perspective of China, a woman in 1872 whose no-good husband is conscripted. But it is much more than that - joyful, free and subversive, the book of China’s adventures is also a celebration of the open road, love, sex and a critique of national myths and the idea of progress itself.
Fernanda Melchior - Hurricane Season, 2020
Melchior’s stunning novel has been nominated for various awards and prizes, and tells the story of modern Mexico and its women with panache. A structurally inventive murder mystery that is set in a lawless Mexican village, told in stream of consciousness with a torrential and powerful narrative voice, this book touches upon superstition, sexual violence, faith and more.
Juan Gabriel Vasquez - Retrospective, 2022
A novel based on the real life Colombian film director Sergio Cabrera, Vasquez’s novel is epic and yet intimate, chronicling the global and local with powerful detail. From growing up in Mao’s China to fighting with guerillas in Colombia to getting caught up in the world of the Spanish Civil War and far beyond, this portrait of a life also becomes a portrait of the past century.
Claudia Pineiro - Elena Knows, 2022
Interweaving the story of a murder with intimate questions of morality and responsibility, Claudia Pineiro’s latest novel was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and widely acclaimed. What appears to be one woman’s search for the killer of her daughter turns out to be a devastating work about living with illness, the influence of the church, the freedom of women and several other poignant themes.
Selva Almada - Not A River, 2023
This novel from one of Latin America’s most important new voices is an extraordinary tale of masculinity, guilt, desire and nature. Taking place by the side of an unnamed river and starting with the killing of a stingray, the tale evolves into a prophetic and surreal dream that exposes the depths of violence and uncertainty inherent to society and our relationship with the natural world.
Alia Trabuco Zeran - Clean, 2024
A story that explores class and power dynamics in Chile, Alia Trabuco Zeran’s latest novel is the story of a maid being investigated for murder. After a series of shocking betrayals and revelations, Estela stops speaking, breaking her silence only to tell the story of how it all fell apart. Is this a story of revenge or a confession? Building tension with every page, Clean is a gripping, incisive exploration of domesticity, and betrayal.