International Praise for Humiliation
“A debut that marks the arrival of a powerful figure in Chilean letters . . . We must celebrate it wholeheartedly.”
—JUAN ANTONIO MASOLIVER RÓDENAS, Cultura/s, La Vanguardia
“Every once in a while one encounters a new voice and thinks: they will last . . . Twelve months from now, Humiliation will still be one of the best books of the year.”
—JAVIER RODRÍGUEZ MARCOS, El País
“Fiction that is as alive as Chekov’s and as vibrant as Munro’s.”
—CARLOS PARDO, Babelia
“Nine perfect stories that form an extraordinary collection.”
—ALOMA RODRÍGUEZ, Letras Libres
“While Paulina Flores’s approach is radically political, her stories explore a world of nuance and complexity, brought to life through the author’s relentless quest for the humanity in each of her characters.”
—LORENA G. MALDONADO, El Español
“The great surprise of contemporary Chilean letters descends onto Spain, endorsed by Alejandro Zambra, with a brilliant and daring collection of stories.”
—INÉS MARTÍN RODRIGO, ABC
“With elegance, strength, and the eye of a hunter, Paulina Flores writes as though she’s lived twice as long as her age.”
—KARINA SAINZ BORGO, Vozpópuli
“Some of the characters call to mind Lorrie Moore’s early books.”
—Diario Ahora
“Flores’s style is minimalist and sparse, deprived of artificiality, aiming straight at the heart.”
—Libros y Literatura
“Paulina Flores’s vision is unique and, like only good literature can, it will confront, disturb, and dazzle you.”
—Mujer Hoy
“Stories through which life flows with astonishing ease.”
—RAMÓN ROZAS, Librújula
“A work that is as original as it is strong, as it is delicate.”
—GEMA BEGEGA, TenMag
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2016 by Paulina Flores
Copyright © 2016 by Editorial Planeta Chilena S.A under
Seix Barral imprint—Grupo Planeta
English translation copyright © 2019 by Megan McDowell
First published in Chile in 2015 by Hueders
First published in the United States in 2019 by Catapult (catapult.co)
All rights reserved
Cover design by Nicole Caputo
Book design by Wah-Ming Chang
ISBN: 978-1-948226-24-0
Catapult titles are distributed to the trade by Publishers Group West
Phone: 866-400-5351
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018965037
Printed in the United States of America
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For Elizabeth
Contents
Are we almost there?” moaned Pía. “I’m tired.”
Simona watched her younger sister panting and dragging her feet. “Shhhh,” she said, “quit whining.”
They had been walking for over an hour on the side of the street where the sun beat down hardest. Their father was a few steps ahead. He had realized too late that the shade was on the other side, and the cars speeding down Bellavista wouldn’t let them cross now. In any case, the uneven number they were looking for was on this side, the sunny one, and they were nearly at their destination.
“Dad! I’m tired!” said Pía, and she sat down on the hot ground with her legs outstretched.
Simona watched her father. He didn’t seem to hear Pía and went on walking.
“Dad!” Pía shouted.
This time he turned around, came back, and picked her up. As he went on walking resignedly, Pía’s head peeked over her father’s shoulder like a puppet taking the stage. She hugged his neck tightly and smiled in victory.
Simona raised her eyebrows and shot her sister an angry look, letting her know just how much work she gave other people by being so little. Still, she couldn’t help feeling a little bitter.
Simona was tired too, but she was too big for her father to carry her.
The year was 1996. The girls were nine and six years old. Their father was twenty-nine, and unemployed.
Simona had to hurry to catch up. Her father’s strides grew even longer and faster. His jaw was clenched as he walked, or at least it looked that way from what she could see of him. He was nervous, thought Simona. But seeing him tense today didn’t make her sad like other times; instead, her chest filled with pride. It meant that her father cared about what was happening. And what was happening, what was about to happen, was her idea. She put her hand in the pocket of her dress and squeezed the ad and the map as if they were winning lottery tickets.
Her pride also stemmed from the satisfaction of knowing that she did understand what her father was feeling, and that her little sister didn’t. Simona was the one who had spent all those nights with her ear pressed to the wall, listening to her parents fight. And the next morning she would get out of bed to look up in the dictionary all the words they had said to each other that were new to her. Sometimes she even looked up ones she had heard before, but that in her opinion didn’t apply to her father: loser, coward, selfish.
Simona suffered, but at the same time she loved feeling part of the solemnity of adult conflicts. This was the kind of responsibility that came with the position of older sister.