Surreal and gothic, The Iliac Crest is a masterful excavation of
forgotten Mexican women writers, illustrating the myriad ways that
gendered language can wield destructive power.
On a dark and stormy night, two mysterious women invade an unnamed
narrator's house, where they proceed to ruthlessly question their host's
identity. The women are strangely intimate―even inventing together an
incomprehensible, fluid language―and harass the narrator by repeatedly
claiming that they know his greatest secret: that he is, in fact, a
woman. As the increasingly frantic protagonist fails to defend his
supposed masculinity, he eventually finds himself in a sanatorium.
Published for the first time in English, this Gothic tale is "utterly
weird yet deeply resonant in its portrayal of gendered violence" (The
Millions). Through layered and haunting prose, Cristina Rivera Garza
unravels the cultural and political histories of Mexico, probing at the
misogyny that fuels the disappearance of women in literature and in real
life.
Astounding and thought-provoking. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"An intelligent, beautiful story about bodies disguised as a story about
language disguised as a story about night terrors. Cristina Rivera Garza
does not respect what is expected of a writer, of a novel, of language.
She is an agitator." --Yuri Herrera, author of Kingdom Cons
Published for the first time in English, this Gothic tale destabilizes
male-female binaries and subverts literary tropes.
