The story is told in first person chapters which alternate between Felipe and Iquela. Iquela is asked by her mother (and old aquaintance of the deceased), to meet Paloma at the airport – but when the latter discovers that a volcanic ash cloud has lead to the flight with her mother’s body being diverted to Argentina, the two together with Felipe (who shares an apartment with his childhood friend and companion Iquela) set off on a road trip in a hearse to recover the body.Īn early chapter, set on the day of the 1988 national plebiscite (which ended the Pinochet dictatorship and restored democracy) shows the tension between Paloma’s and Iquela’s father, as the ex-militants come to terms with their past actions and their consequences for the orphaned Felipe. The limited plot of the novel features the half-German Paloma returning to Chile after many years of exile with her Chilean mothers body (having decided it would be appropriate for her to be buried in her homeland). The book starts in Santiago Chile, sometime near to the present day – and features three children of left wing militants (Felipe, Iquela and Paloma). This debut novel, first published as La Resta in 2014 has been translated by Sophie Hughes. This was the first book to which I subscribed – and it is always pleasing to feel one has contributed, in a very small way, to facilitating a work of art.įamously and admirably, And Other Stories were the only publisher to respond to Kamilia Shamsie (subsequent winner of the 2018 Women’s Prize)’s 2016 challenge to only publish books by women in 2018. They are set up as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company and operate on a subscriber model – with subscribers (of which they now have around 1000 in 40 countries) committing in advance to enable the publication of future books. Now shortlisted for the 2019 Man Booker International Prize.Īnd Other Stories is a small UK publisher which “publishes some of the best in contemporary writing, including many translations” and aims “to push people’s reading limits and help them discover authors of adventurous and inspiring writing”.

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