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Pushkin Press My Tender Matador.
My Tender Matador ABISBOOK Pushkin Press.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 2, 2025
Deeply obsessed with this one, will share some fave quotes tomorrow!
January 4, 2026
wunderschön geschrieben und eine sehr spannende & wichtige queere Perspektive auf das Leben während der Diktatur in Chile!!
June 30, 2025
It is rare that I get to read such gentle, beautiful prose with a story so profound and yet so strangely intimate
A tale of an ageing transwoman and a young university student in late 80s Chile as they navigate their strange friendship and get swept up by the politics of Pinochet's regime and those who wish to fight it.
A tender tale of unrequited love, queer existence and survival in an era when people had to create their own little slices of heaven surrounded by sirens and curfews and the always looming threat of disappearing and being earased by the regime. An era we sadly seem to be speeding towards now again. But it is also a tale of survival, resilience, and love and friendship. A tale of daring to exist to be unapologetically you even when it is forbidden or frowned upon.
The emotions, the backdrop of a confused and opressed but beautiful country, it's people and a woman who feels she belongs to none of it yet is a crucial part of all.
What an absolute masterpiece 🏳️🌈⚘️
A tale of an ageing transwoman and a young university student in late 80s Chile as they navigate their strange friendship and get swept up by the politics of Pinochet's regime and those who wish to fight it.
A tender tale of unrequited love, queer existence and survival in an era when people had to create their own little slices of heaven surrounded by sirens and curfews and the always looming threat of disappearing and being earased by the regime. An era we sadly seem to be speeding towards now again. But it is also a tale of survival, resilience, and love and friendship. A tale of daring to exist to be unapologetically you even when it is forbidden or frowned upon.
The emotions, the backdrop of a confused and opressed but beautiful country, it's people and a woman who feels she belongs to none of it yet is a crucial part of all.
What an absolute masterpiece 🏳️🌈⚘️
April 25, 2025
3.5/5
Pedro Lembel’s writing is like breathing, pulsing poetry and I love it. I feel like this book was the perfect length, but I still wanted more from it. So much to say about the use of language in describing queerness. Speaking of, the relationship between The Queen and Carlos felt somewhat reminiscent of the relationship between the characters in Queer by Burroughs (though I’ve only seen the movie). This has taught me I need to read more world queer literature.
Pedro Lembel’s writing is like breathing, pulsing poetry and I love it. I feel like this book was the perfect length, but I still wanted more from it. So much to say about the use of language in describing queerness. Speaking of, the relationship between The Queen and Carlos felt somewhat reminiscent of the relationship between the characters in Queer by Burroughs (though I’ve only seen the movie). This has taught me I need to read more world queer literature.
June 26, 2025
Tender indeed, as a hopeless romantic gets swept up in a complicated political plot but yearns only for love and acceptance. I like the alternation with chapters from Pinochet's point of view, even if in the end it felt rather slight.
August 15, 2025
Brilliant, sassy, hilarious and devastating all rolled in a quick paced lightening bolt of a novella.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews