Eating ashes : a novel

Call Number

  • FICTION NAVA (CEN, OSH, WSQ)

Edition

First edition.

Publication Information

New York, NY : Liveright Publishing Corporation, [2026]

Physical Description

235 pages ; 22 cm.

Summary

Alone and adrift in Barcelona, an unnamed narrator is haunted by the death of her teenage brother, Diego. Diego, the little boy she helped raise in Mexico while their mother struggled to make a living in Spain. Diego, who loved Vampire Weekend and dreamed of becoming a pilot. Diego, who hated Madrid as much as she did. Now, his ashes in hand, she must return to Mexico. Plagued by memories, she recounts their young lives leading up to tragedy in blistering detail: the acute loneliness that accompanied their emigration; the siblings' first separation, when she left for Barcelona to make her own way in the world; her activism against labor abuses, which is threatened by her tumultuous relationship with an entitled lover; and the final, heavyhearted confrontation with her brother. Caught between rage and heartbreak over the loss of Diego, she pieces together a story of alienation, but also of surprising courage and hope.

Notes

"First published in Mexico in 2021 by Editorial Sexto Piso, S.A. DE C.V as Ceniza en la boca"--Title page verso

Added Authors

Megan McDowell