Melba Escobar

Soy Melba, la menor de cuatro hermanas. Soy el resultado de un amor imposible entre dos mundos, dos seres extraordinarios, dos patolog as. Las Hu rfanas es una excavaci n en la memoria del personaje monumental que fue mi mam Myriam De Nogales, una mujer inalcanzable en sus destrezas y talentos, apasionada, caustica, herida e hiriente, brillante. Once a os antes de tenerme mi mam se lanz por una ventana. Me lo cont cuando me lleg mi primer per odo, como un escabroso ritual de bienvenida a la pubertad. Este libro es tambi n una indagaci n en los lazos familiares, en la forma en que creamos la identidad femenina, as como en el espectro de la figura patriarcal en la construcci n de nuestro universo interior. As es como celebro el paso por la tierra de todos mis muertos, en especial de mi madre, la muerta que m s vive en m . Tambi n celebro a mi prima, Myriam De Nogales, tocaya y sobrina de mam , para quien el suicidio fue m s que un intento. A las lectoras y lectores de esta novela les deseo que este exorcismo del alma, este acto de psicomagia, esta exploraci n de los fantasmas que nos habitan les traiga el consuelo que me trajo a m . ENGLISH DESCRIPTIONI am Melba, the youngest of four sisters. I am the result of an impossible love between two worlds, two extraordinary beings, two pathologies. Las Hu rfanas (The Orphans) is an excavation into the memory of the monumental character that was my mother: Myriam De Nogales, an unattainable woman in her skills and talents, passionate, caustic, wounded and wounding, brilliant. Eleven years before having me, my mother jumped out of a window. She told me this when I got my first period, as a gruesome ritual of welcoming me into puberty. This book is also an investigation into family ties, the way we create female identity, as well as the spectrum of the patriarchal figure in the construction of our inner universe. This is how I celebrate the passage through the earth of all my deceased, especially my mother, the deceased who lives the most in me. I also celebrate my cousin, Myriam De Nogales, my mother's namesake and niece, for whom suicide was more than an attempt. To the readers of this novel, I hope this exorcism of the soul, this act of psychomagic, this exploration of the ghosts that inhabit us, brings you the solace it brought me.

A 2025 Batchelder Honor Book! ? A heartwarming middle-grade novel from Colombia about a ten-year-old boy and the larger-than-life figure who changes him forever. Pedro is dealing with a lot for a ten-year-old kid, both at school and at home. So he's overjoyed when his mom surprises him with a trip to see the ocean—an experience he's been dreaming about for a long time! Maybe this trip will make everything better. Maybe it will make his dad come back to him and his mom. Maybe he will stop being bullied at school, once he's seen the ocean! But things go wrong right from the start between Pedro and his mom, and all seems lost, until Pedro is found and taken in by a gruff old sea dog who has something magical about him. Tender, funny, and stamped with psychological truth, Johnny, the Sea, and Me offers the thrills of pirate adventures and the rich cultural history of the Caribbean, along with strong characters and a satisfying and moving portrait of an unusual friendship. Adeptly translated by Sara Lissa Paulson and beautifully illustrated by Elizabeth Builes, this book is sure to resonate with readers young and old.

An addictive Colombian crime novel set in and around a beauty salon in Bogota ‘This delicate, merciless filleting of race and gender politics is highly recommended’ Guardian ‘A revelation. A rewarding read and an unexpected insight into a foreign society not often documented in novels. Treat yourself’ Crime Time ‘We thought we were bored of thrillers, but then we found House of Beauty … as gasp-inducing as a hot wax’ Glamour House of Beauty is a high-end salon in Bogotá’s exclusive Zona Rosa area, and Karen is one of its best beauticians. But there is more to her role than the best way to apply wax, or how to give the perfect massage. Her clients share their most intimate secrets with her. She knows all about their breast implants, their weekends in Miami, their divorces and affairs. One rainy afternoon a teenage girl turns up for a treatment with Karen, dressed in her school uniform and smelling of alcohol. The very next day, the girl is found dead. Karen was the last person to see the girl alive, and the girl’s mother is desperate to find out what she knows. Most important of all: who was her daughter going to meet that night?

A thought-provoking Colombian crime novel set in and around a beauty salon in Bogota 'This delicate, merciless filleting of race and gender politics is highly recommended' Guardian 'A revelation. A rewarding read and an unexpected insight into a foreign society not often documented in novels. Treat yourself' Crime Time 'We thought we were bored of thrillers, but then we found House of Beauty ... as gasp-inducing as a hot wax' Glamour House of Beauty is a high-end salon in Bogot 's exclusive Zona Rosa area, and Karen is one of its best beauticians. But there is more to her role than the best way to apply wax, or how to give the perfect massage. Her clients share their most intimate secrets with her. She knows all about their breast implants, their weekends in Miami, their divorces and affairs. One rainy afternoon a teenage girl turns up for a treatment with Karen, dressed in her school uniform and smelling of alcohol. The very next day, the girl is found dead. Karen was the last person to see the girl alive, and the girl's mother is desperate to find out what she knows. Most important of all: who was her daughter going to meet that night?

Kolumbialaisen Melba Escobarin rikosromaanin tapahtumat sijoittuvat bogotalaisen hienostoalueen kauneussalonkiin. Karen on yksi salongin parhaista työntekijöistä, mutta hän tekee muutakin kuin poistaa asiakkaiden ihokarvat tai levittää heidän kasvoilleen mutanaamioita. Karen tietää asiakkaistaan kaiken - kenellä on silikonirinnat, kuka vietti pitkän viikonlopun Miamissa rakastajansa kanssa ja kuka aikoo ottaa avioeron miehestään. Hoitojen lomassa Karenille uskoutuvat psykoanalyytikko, kongressiedustajan vaimo ja tunnettu TV-juontaja. Asiat saavat kuitenkin vakavamman käänteen, kun yhden asiakkaan teini-ikäinen tytär löydetään murhattuna ja käy ilmi, että Karen on yksi tytön viimeisenä nähneistä ihmisistä. Kauneussalonki on paitsi älykäs trilleri myös mielenkiintoinen kuvaus kolumbialaisten naisten sosiaalisesta todellisuudesta sekä maailmasta, jossa oikeus kuuluu niille, joilla on varaa maksaa siitä. Melba Escobar (s. 1976) on kolumbialainen kirjailija ja toimittaja. Kauneussalonki palkittiin Kolumbiassa vuoden parhaana romaanina 2016. Escobar asuu Bogotassa, jossa hän viettää aikansa uppoutuen journalismiin ja kirjallisuuteen.