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This week, on the news, a young woman disappeared and her mother was crying on the screen. She told her family she was heading for a job interview but wasn't back home.
Immediately I remembered this book, which I read months ago. I remembered the name on the dedication page and the story behind it. I remembered the violence of the Argentine case and prayed that we wouldn't see the story repeated.
Life sent me far from this reading challenge. But, in a reminder, it brought me back to it now. A reminder that we must keep moving forward. Always.
In the impoverished outskirts of the Argentine capital, we meet Eartheater, a girl with a gift that sounds more like a punishment. In a young and dark tone, "Eartheater" by Dolores Reyes tells the story of a girl who has visions about missing and murdered people after eating soil. Between the hope of those looking for a loved one and the disgust of acquaintances, she lives, together with her brother Walter, the teenagers' discovery journey with all the difficulties of her social condition.
Her visions start when her mother is murdered and, in desperation, she devours the mud to get closer to her mom. The soil showed her that her father was the killer. Ashamed of her niece's behavior, the only adult who would care for both siblings, abandoned them. Seen as dirty, the girl drops out of school and lives alone with her brother. Throughout the book we don't know her name, making the psychic powers her nickname and identity.
The author highlights the cruelty of femicides. In her dedication, Dolores attributes the book to Melina Romero and Araceli Ramos. Both died hideously, victims of femicide in 2014 and 2013. One of the cases in the book resembles the story of one of them.
This book launches Dolores Reyes as one of the relevant contemporary writers in Argentina. We witness in this text how violence against women takes a forsaken tone when surrounded by poverty. In each vision, darkness enfolds Eartheater, and the images of violence affect her deeply.
The economic situation of the siblings and the community where they live, in addition to being a background to the story, intensifies each event in the plot. It portrays the closeness between siblings and the simplicity of their tastes and needs. Furthermore, the text stresses the financial difference between those who seek her help.
No blue was the same and no earth tasted alike. No child, sibling, mother, or friend was missed like another.
There is a book sequence called Misery that was released in 2023 by Reyes. I found some sources telling this story will be a trilogy. However, I did not find any confirmation from the author, it will have more books.
Eartheater is a painful book. A book that is quick to read but it has a dark and dense subject. The writer takes us in a simple and original way until the end. It affects our feelings, especially if you are a woman. It's a good read to understand and reflect on gender-based violence.
Ni Una Menos.
.
*The English translation of the quotes is a loose translation from the Spanish version of the book.
About the Writer
Dolores Reyes (1978) is a contemporary Argentine writer and teacher, known for her feminist activism. As a mother of seven children, Reyes worked hard to find time to write. She wrote her first book, Cometierra (2019), a great success in sales and critical. Her texts deal with topics such as gender violence, femicide and motherhood from the perspective of women from the Argentine outskirts.
Other Books: Misery (2023)
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