Adventures of China Iron

Gabriela Cabezón Cámara was born in Buenos Aires in 1968. Her debut novel Slum Virgin (Charco, 2017) was followed by Romance de la negra rubia (Romance of the Blonde Brunette ) as well as by two collections of short stories. In 2011 she published the novella Le viste la cara a Dios (You’ve Seen God’s Face ), later turned into a graphic novel, Beya (Biutiful ), illustrated by Iñaki Echeverría. In 2013, she was Writer-in-Residence at the University of California, Berkeley. The Adventures of China Iron , published by Charco Press in 2020, was shortlisted for the International Booker and the Médicis prizes. In addition to being an environmental activist, Cabezón Cámara is one of the leading feminist and LGBTQ+ intellectuals in Latin America. Her most recent novel is We Are Green and Trembling .Iona Macintyre is a Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Iona’s teaching and research has focused on nineteenth-century Spanish American history and culture. Within this area she works primarily on Argentina, history of the book, translation studies, gender studies and transatlantic relations. She has also published on the contemporary fiction of Jorge Accame.Fiona Mackintosh is a Senior Lecturer in Latin American Literature at the University of Edinburgh with research interests in contemporary Latin American fiction and poetry (particularly from Argentina), and literary translation. She has published extensively on Alejandra Pizarnik, Silvina Ocampo and Claudia Piñeiro. Her co-translation of_The Adventures of China Iron_ by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2020. She recently translated Clara Obligado's_All that Grows: Nature and Writing_ (X Artists' Books, 2025).

International Booker Prize (Shortlist)"A thrilling and mystical miniature epic." —The Guardian"[The Adventures of China Iron] reminds us, in Cabezón Cámara’s entrancing poetry, how magical and frankly unpleasant it is to live through history." —New York Times"A daring, playful story." —New Statesman"Daring." —The Financial Times"Brilliantly translated by Fiona Mackintosh and Iona Macintyre, this is a heartfelt, dreamlike paean to Argentina’s past and what might have been had the pampas been left alone." —The Times Literary Supplement"Shaking loose new possibilities for how we might reshape the present precisely by unsettling something seemingly so settled as the past." —Music & Literature"Cabezón Cámara’s exciting LGBTQ look at pioneers of the pampas makes for a rewarding and subversive treat." —Publishers Weekly"[The Adventures of China Iron] compels readers to examine critically not only the biases of the myths we celebrate, but also how they seep into our contemporary understandings of nationhood." —LA Review of Books"A wonderful reading experience, filled with light, joy, discovery, friendship, and love." —The Massachusetts Review"An unexpected ride that delivers on all accounts." —DIVA Magazine"A transformative adventure, wholly romantic and sublime, at times even supernatural in its message of discovery." —Books and Bao"10 Best Translated Books 2019" —Books and Bao"It’s moving and intelligent and funny and all of it is fun (so much fun)." —Mark Haber, Brazos Bookstore"By disrupting pedagogical nationalist representations, Cámara’s story enables all those places in the margins to re-signify constructs of the Argentine people." —Wasafiri"A thrilling book that has a little of everything that I look for in a novel." —SubText"20 Best Latin American books 2017" —El País"Best books dealing with feminism, sisterhood and queerness" —Página/12"Best Books of 2017" —Los inRockuptibles"With a touch of whimsy, ‘The Adventures of China Iron’ rewrites a historical narrative and renders spaces inclusive." —Daily Star************Praise for Gabriela Cabezón Cámara"Gabriela Cabezón Cámara’s writing is singular in the Spanish language: an intrepid pulse that shakes and disarms us in the face of the wordless power, both formidable and innocent, of the jungle and the creatures it portrays."― Fernanda Melchor"She writes with the astuteness of an experienced researcher and the vivid rhythms of a poet. The worlds of her books are revealed to us through a playful, erotic, festive sense of curiosity, one that always leads us to good harbor."― Cristina Rivera Garza"If there's any writer strong enough to start a revolution, it's Gabriela Cabezón Cámara. And I'll be right there beside her."― Gabriela Wiener"So sharp, so urgent, so brave. Gabriela Cabezón Cámara is one of the most authentic voices writing in Spanish today, and among her many talents is one that's especially hard to find: not only does she challenge and incite us, not only does she confront the darkness, but she also gives us in return the subversive courage to think of ourselves as more human, more alive, and more luminous than ever."― Samanta SchweblinSilverio Cañada Memorial Prize (Shortlist)"Queer writing at its most exhilarating." —The Times Literary Supplement"Cámara’s breakout tale is mind-blowingly good." —Publishers Weekly, starred review"A revelation for contemporary literature." —Andrés Neuman , author of TRAVELLER OF THE CENTURY and TALKING TO OURSELVES "Cabezón Cámara’s exuberant range of styles truly shines." —Asymptote"Cámara has a powerful voice, one to be taken seriously." —Library Journal"Book of the Year 2009." —Rolling Stone (Argentina)************