Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2020 1872. The pampas of Argentina. China is a young woman eking out an existence in a remote gaucho encampment. After her no-good husband is conscripted into the army, China bolts for freedom, setting off on a wagon journey through the pampas in the company of her new-found friend Liz, a settler from Scotland. While Liz provides China with a sentimental education and schools her in the nefarious ways of the British Empire, their eyes are opened to the wonders of Argentina’s richly diverse flora and fauna, cultures and languages, as well as to the ruthless violence involved in nation-building. This subversive retelling of Argentina’s foundational gaucho epic Martín Fierro is a celebration of the colour and movement of the living world, the open road, love and sex, and the dream of lasting freedom. With humour and sophistication, Gabriela Cabezón Cámara has created a joyful, hallucinatory novel that is also an incisive critique of national myths. International Booker Prize (Shortlist) "A thrilling and mystical miniature epic." ―The Guardian "[The Adventures of China Iron] reminds us, in Cabezón Cámara’s entrancing poetry, how magical and frankly unpleasant it is to live through history." ―New York Times "A daring, playful story." ―New Statesman "Daring." ―The Financial Times "Brilliantly translated by Fiona Mackintosh and Iona Macintyre, this is a heartfelt, dreamlike paean to Argentina’s past and what might have been had the pampas been left alone." ―The Times Literary Supplement "Shaking loose new possibilities for how we might reshape the present precisely by unsettling something seemingly so settled as the past." ―Music & Literature "Cabezón Cámara’s exciting LGBTQ look at pioneers of the pampas makes for a rewarding and subversive treat." ―Publishers Weekly "[The Adventures of China Iron] compels readers to examine critically not only the biases of the myths we celebrate, but also how they seep into our contemporary understandings of nationhood." ―LA Review of Books "A wonderful reading experience, filled with light, joy, discovery, friendship, and love." ―The Massachusetts Review "An unexpected ride that delivers on all accounts." ―DIVA Magazine "A transformative adventure, wholly romantic and sublime, at times even supernatural in its message of discovery." ―Books and Bao "10 Best Translated Books 2019" ―Books and Bao "It’s moving and intelligent and funny and all of it is fun (so much fun)." ―Mark Haber, Brazos Bookstore "By disrupting pedagogical nationalist representations, Cámara’s story enables all those places in the margins to re-signify constructs of the Argentine people." ―Wasafiri "A thrilling book that has a little of everything that I look for in a novel." ―SubText "20 Best Latin American books 2017" ―El País "Best books dealing with feminism, sisterhood and queerness" ―Página/12 "Best Books of 2017" ―Los inRockuptibles "With a touch of whimsy, ‘The Adventures of China Iron’ rewrites a historical narrative and renders spaces inclusive." ―Daily Star ************ Praise for Gabriela Cabezón Cámara "Gabriela Cabezón Cámara’s writing is singular in the Spanish language: an intrepid pulse that shakes and disarms us in the face of the wordless power, both formidable and innocent, of the jungle and the creatures it portrays."― Fernanda Melchor "She writes with the astuteness of an experienced researcher and the vivid rhythms of a poet. The worlds of her books are revealed to us through a playful, erotic, festive sense of curiosity, one that always leads us to good harbor."― Cristina Rivera Garza "If there's any writer strong enough to start a revolution, it's Gabriela Cabezón Cámara. And I'll be right there beside her."― Gabriela Wiener "So sharp, so urgent, so brave. Gabriela Cabezón Cámara is one of the most authentic voices writing in Spanish today, and among her many talents is one that's especially hard to find: not only does she challenge and incite us, not only does she confront the darkness, but she also gives us in return the subversive courage to think of ourselves as more human, more alive, and more luminous than ever."― Samanta Schweblin Silverio Cañada Memorial Prize (Shortlist) "Queer writing at its most exhilarating." ―The Times Literary Supplement "Cámara’s breakout tale is mind-blowingly good." ―Publishers Weekly, starred review "A revelation for contemporary literature." ―Andrés Neuman , author of TRAVELLER OF THE CENTURY and TALKING TO OURSELVES "Cabezón Cámara’s exuberant range of styles truly shines." ―Asymptote "Cámara has a powerful voice, one to be taken seriously." ―Library Journal "Book of the Year 2009." ―Rolling Stone (Argentina) ************ Gabriela Cabezón Cámara was born in Buenos Aires in 1968. Her debut novel Slum Virgin (Charco, 2017) was followed by Romance de la negra rubia ( Romance of the Blonde Brunette ) as well as by two collections of short stories. In 2011 she published the
