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A review by miraveta
My Tender Matador by Pedro Lemebel
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“To the house, where electric utopias whirled throughout the purple nights of those times.”
A truly lovely translation of a beautifully, descriptively poetic novela. A lot of care is taken, and if you know some Spanish, you can almost hear the original intent ghosting behind the phrases used.
It feels almost as though it’s in conversation with Kiss of the Spider Woman, with a kinder portrayal of its protagonist and her intentions/choices.
Also, the use of songs was beautiful. I pulled up a playlist of them all and played them when they were referenced, and it really added to the experience.
A truly lovely translation of a beautifully, descriptively poetic novela. A lot of care is taken, and if you know some Spanish, you can almost hear the original intent ghosting behind the phrases used.
It feels almost as though it’s in conversation with Kiss of the Spider Woman, with a kinder portrayal of its protagonist and her intentions/choices.
Also, the use of songs was beautiful. I pulled up a playlist of them all and played them when they were referenced, and it really added to the experience.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Police brutality
Use of slurs for gay/trans/drag queen characters (the specific identity connotations of some of them don’t quite translate exactly to a particular modern English identity). Ex: faggot, maricón . However, in more than 2/3 of the cases it is said fondly/neutrally or by characters to refer to themselves. In part just a function of the time in which it is set.