pickChild narrator. Nameless fears, monsters & devils, separation anxiety. The unknown, the abyss. Lack of control. Isolation. Jealousy. Depression. Orphans. Women trapped: housewives & movie stars. Nurtured plants, neglected families. 2023 tr. Dillman
P186 “All my dead, I thought. If my father‘s dead resided in his silence and my mother‘s dead were the plants in the jungle, mine were the leaves about to fall.”
P91 “She was tired of her obligations”
pickOur narrator Claudia is 8, precocious and full of life. Her dad is always at his store and her mom tends to slide into depression (though it‘s not called this). Then her tia gets married and things get shaken up a bit. I don‘t usually like child protagonists, but Claudia is so alive and Quintana shows us so much with just a few words. I really enjoyed this.
NBA longlist, translated literature
pickAbyss is the first book I‘ve read in a long time that captures the inwardness and loneliness of an only child with messy parents. The novel also depicts the phenomenon of hyper-fixation. As an only child, this experience resonates with me, and I find it fascinating to see it portrayed in literature.
Abyss | 
