The smell “was worse than a handful of sand in the face” and “did not want to go on.” “But the leader pointed to the edge of the path and the five of them, on all fours on the dry grass, the five of them, grouped in a single body, (…) finally recognized what was lurking above the yellow foam of the water: the poor face of a dead between the knuckles and plastic bags that the wind blew from the path, the dark mask that swarmed with a myriad of black snakes, and smiled.” The swollen body from decomposition belonged to La Bruja, the mysterious figure who lived in an isolated house in the town of La Matosa. No one knew her name and her face, always hidden under a thick black veil, even on hot days, was an enigma to many. Many stories circulated about her: that she was rich and had a treasure hidden under the floor of her house, that she knew powerful spells, and that she had made a pact with the Devil. None were true. She had to die for the truth to be revealed.
The witch is the central character of hurricane storm, the powerful second novel by Fernanda Melchor, finally available in Portugal (Elsinore edition). Published in Mexico in 2017, the book became known internationally in 2020, with the publication of the English edition and the nomination for the International Booker Prize, an important award for translated fiction for which the 40-year-old Mexican writer was once again nominated. . in 2020. A harsh but deeply poetic portrait of a small town in Mexico dominated by death, violence, prejudice and superstition, hurricane storm It is a reflection on the origins of violence. A subject that torments and fascinates the author: “Violence has always been a mystery to me,” she admitted to The New York Times. “Why it happens, how it happens, how it seems likely that we’re all capable of doing it… She’s always been fascinated by it all.” Melchor’s books, which always take reality as their starting point, explore “with horror and humanity” (an expression used by the translator Sophie Hughes) the darkest side of the human being, while trying to understand the human origin of violence. , which is not restricted to an environment of difficulties and poverty, like the author’s most recent novel, paradalesshows: horror can be born even in the most fertile soils.
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Source: Observadora
