The Curse of Eve and Other Stories by Liliana Blum

Translated by Toshiya Kamei

In this extraordinary collection, acclaimed Mexican writer Liliana Blum presents us with a startling, tender and often hilarious take on modern life. The wry, intimate stories in The Curse of Eve pulse with the ache of abandoned dreams and debauched desires. In the affecting title story, the very ordinary fate of a young mother is laid bare as the stuff of tragedy. In Kisses on the Forehead, a personal ad leads to a desperate tryst between a virgin and a vagabond, while A Model Kit invites us to observe an unorthodox artist and his odious methods of creation. A young woman's adventures with a porn star inspire an unlikely new vocation in God Bless Ron Jeremy, and in To Adorn the Saints the appearance of a naked virgin in the bell-tower wreaks havoc on the village of San Cordelio de Cocoyótl.

With lush, elegant prose, Blum performs an unflinching psychological autopsy on her twisted cast of characters, and offers a surreal yet plausible vision of life in the villages and port towns of her homeland. Appearing in English for the first time, The Curse of Eveilluminates the vagaries of marriage, motherhood and morality, and perfectly encapsulates the many small ways in which we make sense of our daily lives.

"Expertly translated by Toshiya Kamei, 'The Curse of Eve' is utterly fascinating reading."

– The Midwest Book Review

"Bawdy and alive...."

– Helen Simpson, author of In the Driver's Seat

"...an engaging mix of traditional mexican storytellinng and modernist sensibilities, of allegory and highly personalized narrative, of lush imagery and matter of fact sexuality."

– Tom Dooley, editor of Eclectica

 

8.5" x 5.5"
159 pages