Piñen
Stories
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- Pedido anticipado
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- Se espera: 11 ago 2026
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- USD 11.99
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- Pedido anticipado
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- USD 11.99
Descripción editorial
A fierce, tender collection of stories about the lives, traumas, and dreams of Mapuche youth in modern-day Chile.
The word "piñen" comes from Mapudungun and refers to the dust or the dirt that sticks to the body.
In the all-too-real streets of Santiago de Chile, Daniela Catrileo gives us a portrait of a generation in search of itself. In “Warriache,” two childhood friends whose lives have been marked by their part Mapuche identity and the memories that bind them circle each other at a party. Their dance of delays and inevitable meeting expands into a tale across epochs—one that gives life to the hidden and suppressed experiences of those who live on the margins of other stories. In “Pornomisery,” a young girl considers the sexual violence that seems to lurk behind every closed door in her cloistered community and darken every possible route of exit.
Piñen is suffused with the humanity of its vivid, complex characters, bringing a side of modern Chile to vibrant life. It also marks the confident next step in the career of a writer poised to become one of the boldest and most uncompromising chroniclers of modern life in Latin American literature.
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This striking collection from Chilean writer Catrileo (Chilco) revolves around a Mapuche community dealing with pervasive violence and racism on the margins of society in Santiago. The narrator of "Have You Seen How Weeds Sprout from the Dry Earth," describing the slaying of a drug lord, conveys the community's familiarity with shootings in broad daylight ("We heard an intense burst of gunshots and everything they bring with them: screaming, sobbing, and howling"). The narrator of the harrowing "Pornomisery" notes that as a preteen, she learned how to masturbate at the same age that her friend and neighbor Valeska began to be raped by her father, who would blast techno music to drown out Valeska's cries. "Warriache," a highlight, depicts the narrator and her childhood friend Yajaira coming of age at a San Bernardo Catholic school, where they experience "a very subtle kind of racism" and, as girls, learn that "to hide is also to survive." As young women, they drift apart over their political differences—Yajaira becomes a communist, the narrator "more of an anarchist"—and the story builds to their reunion at Yajaira's 30th birthday party. Throughout, Catrileo paints her characters with a fine brush, showing how they each attempt to thrive amidst their gritty daily lives. It's a powerful testament to resilience.
