Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener translated from Spanish by Julia Sanchez

 Dedicated to my dear friend Giuliana: We should have talk about this book instead...

´I realize I´m trying to build something out of pieces lifted from an unfinished story´.

I am incredibly late going through the Booker Prize Longlist - meanwhile, the shortlist was already announced few weeks back. But with no publishing pressure in sight - I am independently writing this blog, not on any commission therefore free to review what and when I want - I rather prefer to take my time and eventually explore an author nominated for more than one book - the case of Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, an author I am currently reading in the original Venezuelan-Spanish version and very much enjoying it. Kairos was definitely not my cup of tea at all, maybe because I am different audience than the one envisioned for the English-version of the book.

As I am spending a lot of time this year exploring Spanish-speaking literature and countries, Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener, translated from Spanish by Julia Sanchez. Wiener, a Peruvian journalist and author, lives currently in Madrid. 

My favorite part of this book is the way in which the world itself reflects into her personal story - in the way similar to Annie Ernaux, which fascinates me. A relative of a famous anthropologist whose writings perpetrated the ´white man´ scientific civilizational views, Wiener is exploring her trauma and personal history of desire, her life choices and relationships. There is a historical constraint in it and with the same openness and curiosity of an anthropologist she is deconstructing first her own identity shreds proceeding next to the rather society, global level.

Undiscovered has shortly over 100 pages, but it is that amount of knowledge that may completely challenge your ready-made ideas about society, civilization, Spanish culture and also love and sex.

Rating: 4.5 stars