Advertisement
Become a member of the Big Issue community
JOIN
Books

Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda review – Mexico's gritty underbelly, as told by women

De La Verda’s stories scrutinise Mexican society with great humour and grit

If there’s one way to sell a book in 2024 it’s by giving it a hot pink jacket, putting an iconic Graciela Iturbide photograph on the cover, and calling it Reservoir Bitches. Dahlia de la Cerda’s debut story collection begins with a woman in desperate need for an abortion. “You might think I’m exaggerating, that an unwanted pregnancy isn’t a catastrophe or anything,” she says in a narrative voice that howls from the page, “but for me it was. It was the biggest catastrophe of my life.” 

Eventually, she procures some over-the-counter pills and writhes in pain as Legally Blonde plays on the TV. It’s a stark introduction to a book of linked stories that paints a landscape of contemporary Mexico. The stories are all narrated by women, from the daughters of crime bosses to designer-clad socialites, whose voices are all so alive and vibrant that reading this collection was a genuine thrill.

Praise must be heaped upon the translators, Julia Sanches and Heather Cleary, who borrow from London street slang to approximate De La Verda’s Mexican street slang, effectively allowing this translation to flow and sing in English. Reservoir Bitches doesn’t shy from portraying Mexico’s gritty underbelly but, much like her fellow countrywoman Fernanda Melchor, De La Verda’s stories scrutinise Mexican
society with great humour. It is a remarkably good debut collection.

Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda, translated by Julia Sanches and Heather Cleary, is out now (Scribe, £9.99). You can buy it from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us moreBig Issue exists to give homeless and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy of the magazine or get the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Advertisement

Become a Big Issue member

3.8 million people in the UK live in extreme poverty. Turn your anger into action - become a Big Issue member and give us the power to take poverty to zero.

Recommended for you

View all
Top 5 books to read for the American election, chosen by prize-winning poet Kelly Michels 
Books

Top 5 books to read for the American election, chosen by prize-winning poet Kelly Michels 

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout review – small-town secrets
Books

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout review – small-town secrets

Recognising the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative review – a clear-eyed meditation
Review

Recognising the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative review – a clear-eyed meditation

Author Matt Haig: 'I was a teenage shoplifter. In my foolish brain I was a kind of Robin Hood'
Matt Haig
Letter To My Younger Self

Author Matt Haig: 'I was a teenage shoplifter. In my foolish brain I was a kind of Robin Hood'

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know