About the book:
The Pacific coast of Colombia, where daily life involves fending off the brutal forces of nature. In this constant struggle, nothing is acquired. Damaris lives with her fisherman husband in a cabin on a cliff overlooking the sea. Without children and at that age "when women dry up", as her uncle says, she is eager to adopt an orphan puppy. But this act could bring more than affection into his home. This title is written in prose as laconic as the villagers, with storms – both meteorological and emotional – lurking around every corner. Beauty and dread coexist in this poignant exploration of the many meanings of motherhood and love.
About the Author:
PILAR QUINTANA is a Colombian author. She debuted with Cosquillas en la lengua in 2003 and published Coleccionistas de polvos raros in 2007, the same year the Hay Festival selected her as one of Latin America's most promising young authors. Her latest novel, The Bitch, won the prestigious Colombian Biblioteca de Narrativa Prize and is longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award for translated literature.
Comments:
/"Set on the Pacific coast of Colombia, Pilar Quintana's The Bitch is a portrait of a woman struggling with abandonment, love, and her need to be nurtured. Translated from Spanish by Lisa Dillman, the story follows the main character's adoption of a dog who disappears into the jungle; when the dog returns, she nurses him back to health, but when he runs away again, there are brutal consequences./"— National Book Foundation, *2020 National Book Award Longlist in Translated Literature*
“The magic of this refined novel lies in its ability to talk about many things, all important, while seemingly talking about something else entirely. What are these things? Violence, loneliness, resilience, cruelty. Quintana does wonders with his disillusioned, unadorned and powerful prose. —Juan Gabriel Vásquez, author of The Sound of Falling Things
“The female dog is a novel of real violence. Artist that she is, Pilar Quintana discovers wounds we didn't know existed, shows us their beauty, then throws a handful of salt. » – Yuri Herrera, author of Signs preceding the end of the world.
“A gripping psychological portrait of a troubled woman struggling with her nurturing instinct is at the heart of Colombian writer Quintana's lean and powerful debut English novel… The brutal scenes unfold quickly, with lean, pungent prose. Quintana's gripping novel of love, betrayal and abandonment hits hard. —Publishers Weekly, *Starred review*
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