Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda

A debut linked story collection of gritty, streetwise, and wickedly funny fiction from Mexico.

Life’s a bitch. That’s why you gotta rattle her cage, even if she’s foaming at the mouth.

In the linked stories of Reservoir Bitches, thirteen Mexican women prod the bitch that is Life as they fight, sew, skirt, cheat, cry, and lie their way through their tangled circumstances. From the all-powerful daughter of a cartel boss to the victim of transfemicide, from a houseful of spinster seamstresses to a socialite who supports her politician husband by faking Indigenous roots, these women spit on their own reduction and invent new ways to survive, telling their stories in bold, unapologetic voices. At once social critique and black comedy, Reservoir Bitches is a raucous debut from one of Mexico’s most thrilling new writers.

‘This book has the force of an ocean gully- it sucks you in, it drags you through the mud, and it cleans you in equal measure.’
-Andrea Abreu, author of Dogs Of Summer

‘The brutal, fascinating, and truthful stories in Reservoir Bitches describe, without self-indulgence, the highly complex reality of young women in Mexico.’
-Berna Gonzalez Harbour, El Pais

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book like this- the kind that makes you feel like your chest is going to explode.’
-Maria Teresa Priego-Broca, La Silla Rota

About the Author: Dahlia de la Cerda (Author)
Dahlia de la Cerda is a Mexican writer and activist. She has a BA in Philosophy and won the Comala Young National Short Story Award for Reservoir Bitches. She is also the author of the essay ‘Feminismo sin cuarto propio’, which is included in the anthology Tsunami 2, and co-founder of the feminist organisation Morras Help Morras. Her short story ‘The Smile’ was included in the first issue of Astra Magazine, and Reservoir Bitches is currently being developed as a series by Amazon Studios and Perro Azul.

Julia Sanches (Translator)
Julia Sanches translates literature from Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan into English. Born in Brazil, she now lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Heather Cleary (Translator)
Heather Cleary is an award-winning translator of poetry and prose whose work has been recognised by English PEN, the National Book Foundation, and the Mellon Foundation, among others.

03 Sep 2024
 

Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda ISBN 9781761380419