Welcome to Litsy!

Not an easy read, no tidy resolution, but still a powerful story. If you are having trouble in the beginning, feeling confused or unable to connect with the protagonist, go read the translator's notes at the end. In a way, I think that info should be at the front because the author's profession and experience, as well as the culture and regional language nuance, is helpful for understanding where this story takes place (barrios of Argentina).

1/2

Gritty realism with fantastical elements. I was spellbound by this Argentinian novel about a barrio girl whose clairvoyant abilities are connected to eating earth. She helps people find their missing or dead loved ones, but at great cost to herself. The writing is punchy & skips along quickly through several years, pausing on scenes sometimes quotidian, like playing video games, & sometimes momentous, like murder. #Translation by Julia Sanches.

Her bones weren‘t meek like domesticated animals. They stalked me and their fury contained the devastating force of those who seek justice.

Then she opened her purse and pulled out a can of beer.
I eyed the can, a pitiful amount for the two of us, but she smiled so hard I didn‘t care.
“On birthdays,” she said, “it‘s allowed.”
And the can popped open with that sound I loved.

86 >> “I stroked the earth, closed my fist, and with my hand lifted the key to the door through which Maria and so many other forks had passed, beloved daughters darned from the flesh of other women. I lifted the earth and swallowed it, then swallowed more, swallowed plenty, giving birth to fresh eyes that allowed me to see.”

Magical realism in spare, straightforward prose. Eartheater is a young Argentine woman who compulsively eats earth, which gives her visions of crimes committed on that ground. What could be some cheap TV “crime seer” story is made interesting by first person narration. Coming of age, mourning, conversing with the dead, violence against women & children, family, visions, jars of earth left by desperate strangers. End could be stronger. Trans 2020

The premise of this book is one I have never read before. An interesting way, full of beautiful prose, to speak to missing and murdered women, children neglected, and disappointing authority.

"I shut my eyes to lay hands on the fresh earth covering you, Mamá, and night falls. I make fists, scoop, bring it to my mouth. The earth devouring you is dark and tastes like tree bark. It pleases me and reveals things and makes me see."

A beautiful and thought-provoking book about an unnamed girl called Eartheater, who compulsively eats earth that gives her visions of missing and murdered women, all while trying to find a name for herself. It really makes you think about what you would do to help others and to truly find yourself and your happiness. An incredible first novel from Dolores Reyes.
I give this book all the picks, all the thumbs ups, and all the stars.

This book was a glimpse into the life of a woman who can see the dead and find the lost. She is Eartheater. I loved her struggle with loved ones and her own supernatural gifts that scared people away. I could feel her isolation. I could feel her desire to connect with someone. And her loss.