Cockfight by Maria Fernanda Ampuero

 

Cockfight by Maria Fernanda Ampuero.

Translated from the Spanish by Frances Riddle.

Published in paperback 21st January 2021 by Influx Press.

From the cover of the book:

Named one of the ten best fiction books of 2018 by the New York Times en Espanol, Cockfight is the debut work by Ecuadorian writer and journalist Maria Fernanda Ampuero. 

In lucid and compelling prose, Ampuero sheds light on the hidden aspects of home: the grotesque realities of family, coming of age, religion, and class struggle.

 A family's maids witness a horrible cycle of abuse, a girl is auctioned off by a gang of criminals, and two sisters find themselves at the mercy of their spiteful brother. With violence masquerading as love, characters spend their lives trapped re-enacting their past traumas. 

Heralding a brutal and singular new voice, Cockfight explores the power of the home to both create and destroy those within it.

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I am always fascinated by translated fiction, especially something with a feminist slant - and Cockfight certainly ticks both of these boxes.

Before we begin, I sometimes add a proviso that a book is not for the fainthearted, and this is not only one of those books, but something that goes way beyond this by quite some margin - you have been warned.

I like an unsettling read, but don't think I have read anything quite as challenging as this for a long while - it is filled with violent and disturbing stories of dysfunctional families, harsh realities, religion, class and twisted love that has the power to both nurture and destroy, and it certainly gives you an emotional pummelling. It is something to be taken in small bites rather than devoured as a whole and, I suggest, interspersed with big gulps of something more wholesome and heart-warming for the sake of your peace of mind (and the contents of your stomach).

Much of what lies within these pages will fill you with horror, revulsion and indignant rage, with imagery so vivid that is likely to haunt your nightmares for some considerable time after reading. The raw and detailed descriptions of abuse are very difficult to read, and for the most part they follow a similar distressing theme of violence under the guise of misplaced love.

Ampuero's narrative pulls no punches, and she is unflinching and unapologetic in her choices of subject matter and language, as she ensures her message is driven home to the hilt. And yet, there is something so compelling about the characters she gives voice to here and the secrets that are so often hidden behind closed doors. Many of these tales expose an underlying essence of strength and survival under the most horrendous of circumstances that is like a thread of gold in a mire of filth, and this is what makes the emotional toll bearable. 

My favourite story of the collection is Passion, which stands out for me as the most intriguing of them all with is apocryphal biblical feel and reflection of the subversion of the power of women, but there is plenty to get your teeth into and pull apart in every single story.

This is not going to be an anthology for everyone, but sometimes a book which gives you a gut-wrenching, visceral experience can let you know you are alive and kicking, and as a translation it is impressive that the weight and import of these stories is so powerful even though they are not in their native language - this displays fine work from the translator, Frances Riddle. It certainly gives you a lot to think about, so if you like a walk on the wild side, and are not afraid to push your boundaries, then this is definitely going to give you an interesting time!

Cockfight is available to buy from your preferred retailer from 21st January 2021, of direct from Influx Press HERE.

Thank you to Jordan Taylor-Jones and Influx Press for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

María Fernanda Ampuero is a writer and journalist, born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in 1976. She has published articles in newspapers and magazines around the world, as well as two nonfiction books: Lo que aprendí en la peluquería y Permiso de residencia. Cockfight is her first short story collection, and her first book to be translated into English.

About the translator:

Frances Riddle is a writer and translator based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her recent book-length translations include Not One Less by María Pía López (forthcoming, Polity Press); Plebeian Prose by Néstor Perlongher (Polity Press 2019); The German Room by Carla Maliandi (Charco Press 2018). Her short story translations, essays, and reviews have been published in the White Review, Electric Literature, the Short Story Project, and Words Without Borders, among others.