Diamela Eltit

The story of a the mother of a troubled teenage boy, told through her letters to the boy's father. They live in a time of a repressive dictatorship, marked by a pervasive feeling of being watched. The mother takes in homeless families, inspite of her fear that this will somehow be used against her.

"Eltit's Vaca sagrada (see HLAS 54:4047), an intense narrative of erotic desire set against the backdrop of political repression in Chile, treats themes of sexual violence, power relationships, the domination of women, and female fantasy. Well translated by Hopkinson. However, this first translation of an Eltit novel includes no locating materials beyond a very short author's biography on the back flap"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.

"Gerdes' brief but informative introduction makes clear that he has been a sensitive reader of El cuarto mundo. The two narrators, although twins - one male, one female, tell different tales and use language very differently. Translation is competent, but Gerdes' own language lacks the dynamic energy of Eltit's, perhaps because he follows the Spanish structures so closely"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.

Novela.

"Volumen que contiene 20 cuentos de escritoras chilenas actuales donde el tema compartido de la relación madre e hija permite indagar acerca de los problemas de la identidad femenina y de la diferencia genérica. Aporta una reseña bio-bibliográfica de las autoras incluidas"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.