37 different women, all in search of one thing in common: liberation.
37 rural women held back by dominant and sexist men, preventing them from ever moving forward. These women lived between the 1910s and the 1940s in the little town of Puebla, Mexico, and destiny had reserved them a life confined to the walls of their house, only useful for their labors and the care of their husband and children. They are surrounded by their families and defined by what society expects of them as women. But these are not just any women… these are bold women, women ahead of their time and with ancestral wisdom that no female could even fathom in this period. They are brave, rebellious, ambitious, dreamers, enthusiastic and passionate – feminists. Their unique personalities resonate in everything they do and, when the time is right, they will recognize their abilities – their potential – and will turn their lives around. They push towards norm transgression and thus break the stigma of women of the pre- and post-Mexican Revolution. Shards of glass will fall from the ceiling.
All the stories tell the adventure of an exceptional woman – the fighter against male oppression and, with it, the fall of the patriarchy. These are stories – their stories – full of love and heartbreak, overcoming, sisterhood, friendship, joy and pain…
We will get to know Aunt Elena, who is faced with the adversity of having lost everything in the revolution; and Aunt Valeria, who has a new lover every night. There are stories of women who risk it all, like Aunt Pilar, who decides to leave her life and family behind to make it on her own, or Aunt Cristina who crosses oceans to live with a man she has only seen once. Aunt Teresa was one of the only five women in their town who could drive a car and Aunt Daniela, who was so smart that men ran away from her, despite her beauty. There are also stories of the great love between Aunt Marcela and Aunt Jacinta, or stories like Aunt Elida´s, who saved Aunt Daniela’s life.
RELEVANT DATA: Ángeles Mastretta is one of the greatest Mexican female voices of today and has won herself a spot among the most important Mexican authors in history. She is known for creating suggestive female characters and fictions that reflect the social and political realities of Mexico. She has received the Mazatlán Award with her first novel ever published and the Águila Social Award, achieving with it extensive positive attention among critics and very wide international diffusion. Additionally, she received the very prestigious Rómulo Gallegos Award; the first time it was ever granted to a woman.
What the critics have said about the novel:
“With an enveloping narrative, […] fun, intriguing and exciting […] A pleasure to know that in whatever setting or moment the stories take place, they will never go out of date. This book will always be relevant and will only disappear the day women stop being women.” La Biblioteca Libre (literary blog)
“This is a book to enjoy the stories one by one or in a single afternoon. It will make you laugh, cry, remember those lovers we had, have, will have and those that got away; the ones that broke our heart and those that still make us laugh or dream.” Conjurando letras (literary blog)
AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Miniseries, Film, TV Movie.
LANGUAGES AVAILABLE: Spanish, English, Italian, Turkish, Portuguese, Danish, German.
