Short novel set in SWEDEN
A story of deprivation, exploitation, and death set in MEXICO and SPAIN
4th June 2026
Eating Ashes by Brenda Navarro, a story of deprivation, exploitation, and death set in Mexico and Spain.
TR: Megan McDowell.
The unnamed narrator is the elder sister of Diego. Diego kills himself by jumping from a balcony (not a spoiler – this is referenced very early in the book). The trauma inflicted on the narrator is the central theme of the book.
The book opens in Mexico City. The mother of both the narrator and of Diego is leaving home and heading for a better life in Madrid. She suggests that the siblings will soon follow her. She is escaping from poverty and deprivation. Eventually, many years later, they do. But the narrator and Diego find life no better in Spain than it was in Mexico. Yes, there is less of a worry about narco gangs but that worry has only been swopped for other concerns. The narrator joins the masses of undocumented immigrants from Latin America working in exploitative employment. She is paid little to care for old people in their homes – a degrading and sometimes disgusting experience. She works with ‘cousins’, girls from many a Latin American country. They are all looked down upon by the local residents.
Diego meanwhile grows into adolescence. He is moody and surly and far from sure of his role in life. Eventually he plunges from a high balcony into the street below and dies. The narrator is distraught, The book goes back and forth between the time in Spain and the earlier (and later) times in Mexico. The narrator gets a clearer understanding of why they had to leave Mexico in the first place.
There is no doubt that Eating Ashes is a powerful and moving story, excellently translated by Megan McDowell. It has won many literary awards in both Mexico and Spain. But for me it didn’t quite do it. I found the short chapters too short on occasion and the writing style itself a little confusing. But do please read it. I appear to be the odd one out amidst a sea of very positive reviews.
Tony for the TripFiction team
Join team TripFiction on Social Media:
Twitter (@TripFiction), Facebook (@TripFiction.Literarywanderlust), YouTube (TripFiction #Literarywanderlust), Instagram (@TripFiction) and Pinterest (@TripFiction) and BlueSky(tripfiction.bsky.social) and Threads (@tripfiction)
Please wait...
