OLIVIA’S PICK

Devastating in such a satisfying way. So heavy yet so buoyant at the same time–I’ve never been this invested in a character as cruel as our protagonist is here. -OP

Translated by Julia Sanches

Working as a cook on a merchant ship, a woman comes to know and love Samsa, a woman who gives her the nickname Boulder. When Samsa gets a job in Reykjavik and the couple decides to move there together, Samsa decides that she wants to have a child. She is already forty and cant bear to let the opportunity pass her by. Boulder is less enthused, but doesnt know how to say noand so finds herself dragged along on a journey that feels as thankless as it is alien.

With motherhood changing Samsa into a stranger, Boulder must decide where her priorities lie, and whether her yearning for freedom can truly trump her yearning for love.

Once again, Eva Baltasar demonstrates her preeminence as a chronicler of queer voices navigating a hostile worldand in prose as brittle and beautiful as an ancient saga.

Paperback | 112 pages |5.10″ x 7.80″