Medea Sang Me a Corrido

‘De la Cerda creates a sense of pace and peril in a way that resembles Bolano’s The Savage Detectives more than it does 2666. It’s largely composed in a vernacular that obeys rules of spoken rather than written language, and thrums with immediacy as it engages with and subverts patriarchal culture. Anyone interested in Mexican literature should be drawn to this one.’ FICTION PICK OF THE WEEK

‘Only a novel this inventive and insane could help me understand the complexities of modern Mexico and capture every horror of womanhood. Propulsive and poetic. As sick as it is sexy and as feral as it is tender. I couldn’t put it down.’

‘One of the most promising voices in recent Mexican literature.’

‘Once again, de la Cerda has given us a collection of stories that is of devastating impact, one whose power slowly grows with each new voice that joins the chorus until the collective coalesces into a passage that absolutely takes you out at the kneecaps. This is a book rich with lineage and allusion, yet it is never quite so powerful as when it is reckoning with the simple cataclysm of a life cut short.’

Praise for Reservoir Bitches:

‘Reservoir Bitches is a blisteringly urgent collection of interconnected stories about contemporary Mexican women. It absolutely bangs from the first page to the last. It’s extremely funny but deadly serious and we loved the energy and flair of the dual translators’ approach. It packs an enormous political and linguistic punch but is also subtle, revelatory, and moving about the ways in which these women hustle, innovate, survive or don’t, in a world of labyrinthine dangers. This book weaves the riotous testimony of the living and the dead to create an expletive-rich feminist blast of Mexican literature.’

Praise for Reservoir Bitches:

‘The stories are all narrated by women, from the daughters of crime bosses to designer-clad socialites, whose voices are all so alive and vibrant that reading this collection was a genuine thrill. Reservoir Bitches doesn’t shy from portraying Mexico’s gritty underbelly but, much like her fellow countrywoman Fernanda Melchor, De La Cerda’s stories scrutinise Mexican society with great humour. It is a remarkably good debut collection.’

Praise for Reservoir Bitches:

‘Women lie, cheat, kill, and die in Mexican writer de la Cerda’s searing English-language debut … de la Cerda offers a refreshingly unapologetic voice for women who refuse to be placated. This is worth a look.’

Praise for Reservoir Bitches:

‘[de la Cerda’s] tactics succeed in creating the enchanting feeling that one is sitting across from each narrator, being told their stories as a close confidante … The author’s demand that we bear witness to the senseless murders, in all their gruesomeness, of these bright young women is sobering and commendable.’

Praise for Reservoir Bitches:

‘This book has the force of an ocean gully: it sucks you in, it drags you through the mud, and it cleans you in equal measure.’

Dahlia de la Cerda is a writer and activist based in Aguascalientes, Mexico. She is the author of Reservoir Bitches, which was longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize. Its Spanish original, Perras de Reserva, won the 2019 Premio Nacional de Cuento Joven Comala. De la Cerda is also the cofounder of the feminist organisation Morras Help Morras.

Julia Sanches translates literature from Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan into English. Born in Brazil, she now lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Heather Cleary is an award-winning translator of poetry and prose whose work has been recognised by English PEN, the National Book Foundation, and the Mellon Foundation, among others.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.