We Are Green and Trembling

(Hardback)

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A sumptuous and surreal novel from the leading Argentinian author and International Booker shortlistee, reimagining the life of one South America's most famous trans men Lyrical and swashbuckling, tender and surreal, Gabriela Cabez n Camara's new novel finds glimmers of hope for the future in the brutal history of colonial Latin America Deep in the wilds of the New World, Antonio de Erauso begins to write a letter to his aunt, the prioress of the Basque convent he escaped as a young girl. Since fleeing a dead-end life as a nun, he's become Antonio and undertaken monumental adventures- he has been a mule driver, shopkeeper, soldier, cabin boy, and conquistador; he has wielded his sword and slashed with his dagger. Now, caring for two Guarani girls he rescued from enslavement, and hounded by the army he deserted, this protean protagonist contemplates one more metamorphosis, which just might save the new world from extinction... Based on the life of Antonio de Erauso, a real figure of the Spanish conquest, We Are Green and Trembling is a queer baroque satire and a historical novel that blends elements of the picaresque with surreal storytelling. Its rich and wildly imaginative language forms a searing criticism of conquest and colonialism, religious tyranny, and the treatment of women and indigenous people. It is a masterful subversion of Latin American history with a trans character at its centre, finding in the rainforest a magical, surreal space where transformation is not only possible but necessary.

Reviews

Gabriela Cabezn Cmaras writing is singular in the Spanish language: an intrepid pulse that shakes and disarms us in the face of the wordless power, both formidable and innocent, of the jungle and the creatures it portrays -- Fernanda Melchor
So sharp, so urgent, so brave. Gabriela Cabezn Cmara is one of the most authentic voices writing in Spanish today, and among her many talents is one that's especially hard to find: not only does she challenge and incite us, not only does she confront the darkness, but she also gives us in return the subversive courage to think of ourselves as more human, more alive, and more luminous than ever -- Samanta Schweblin
"Cabezn Cmaras entrancing poetry reminds us how magical and frankly unpleasant it is to live through history * New York Times *
This is the truth of Gabriela Cabezn Cmara's literature: it's capable of questioning the very conception of the Western world through beauty. -- Brenda Navarro

Author Bio

Gabriela Cabez n Camara (San Isidro, 1968) is an Argentinian writer and journalist, and a leading figure in Latin American literature. She is a co-founder of the feminist movement NiUnaMenos (\"Not One Less\"")