Additional information
by Dahlia de la Cerda (Author), Heather Cleary (Translator), Julia Sanches (Translator)
A punk revival of Medea as a meddling anti-angel of birth and death, from the International Booker Prize-nominated author of Reservoir Bitches.
In the mythic but all-too-familiar country of Aztlán, the violence of the cartel and the military are ever-present and indistinguishable, and everyday people strive to survive in the cross fire. Enter Medea: a deity with punk-rock flair, equal parts midwife and gravedigger, ancient but never too old to be petty.
In this novel in stories from the author of the International Booker Prize-nominated Reservoir Bitches, a reimagined Medea helps a trophy girlfriend with her abortion, accompanies a mother in search of her lost son in the desert, and embraces tragic victims of the state and its proxy wars. Dahlia de la Cerda's prose pierces the heart and introduces readers to a magnetic new version of a mythological icon--a femme fatale legend in a fatalistic world.
Author Biography
Dahlia de la Cerda is a writer and activist based in Aguascalientes, Mexico. She is the author of Reservoir Bitches, which was longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize. Its Spanish original, Perras de Reserva, won the 2019 Premio Nacional de Cuento Joven Comala. De la Cerda is also the cofounder of the feminist organization Morras Help Morras.
Julia Sanches translates literature from Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan into English. Born in Brazil, she now lives in Providence, Rhode Island.
Heather Cleary is an award-winning translator of poetry and prose whose work has been recognized by English PEN, the National Book Foundation, and the Mellon Foundation, among others. She teaches at Sarah Lawrence College and is the author of The Translator's Visibility: Scenes from Contemporary Latin American Fiction.
