“Profoundly moving and beautifully written . . . each story is its own universe that transports the reader through the characters’ joy and pain.” — Amy Stuart
The nineteen stories in No Stars in the Sky feature strong but damaged female characters in crisis. Tormented by personal conflicts and oppressive regimes that treat the female body like a trophy of war, the women in No Stars in the Sky face life-altering circumstances that either shatter or make them stronger, albeit at a very high price. True to her Latin American roots, Bátiz shines a light on the crises that concern her most: the plight of migrant children along the Mexico–U.S. border, the tragedy of the disappeared in Mexico and Argentina, and the generalized racial and domestic violence that has turned life into a constant struggle for survival. With an unflinching hand, Bátiz explores the breadth of the human condition to expose silent tragedies too often ignored.
“Profoundly moving and beautifully written . . . each story is its own universe that transports the reader through the characters’ joy and pain.” — Amy Stuart
The nineteen stories in No Stars in the Sky feature strong but damaged female characters in crisis. Tormented by personal conflicts and oppressive regimes that treat the female body like a trophy of war, the women in No Stars in the Sky face life-altering circumstances that either shatter or make them stronger, albeit at a very high price. True to her Latin American roots, Bátiz shines a light on the crises that concern her most: the plight of migrant children along the Mexico–U.S. border, the tragedy of the disappeared in Mexico and Argentina, and the generalized racial and domestic violence that has turned life into a constant struggle for survival. With an unflinching hand, Bátiz explores the breadth of the human condition to expose silent tragedies too often ignored.
| Published By | House of Anansi Press Inc — May 3, 2022 |
| Specifications | 300 pages | 5.5 in x 7 in |
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Excerpt |
| Written By |
MARTHA BÁTIZ is an award-winning writer, translator, and professor of Spanish language in literature. She is the author of four books, including the story collection Plaza Requiem, winner of an International Latino Book Award, and the novella The Wolf’s Mouth, winner of the Casa de Teatro Prize. Born and raised in Mexico City, she lives in Toronto. |
| Written By |
|
MARTHA BÁTIZ is an award-winning writer, translator, and professor of Spanish language in literature. She is the author of four books, including the story collection Plaza Requiem, winner of an International Latino Book Award, and the novella The Wolf’s Mouth, winner of the Casa de Teatro Prize. Born and raised in Mexico City, she lives in Toronto. |
This incisive and evocative collection of stories feature strong and resilient women faced with violence, disappearance and tragedies that all too often remain unseen.
” —Ms. MagazineNo Stars in the Sky offers wonderful, haunting writing that burrows deep into the reader’s heart. In these stories, Latin American women scramble with courage and stamina to persevere in the face of violence, illegal incarceration, abandonment, migration, solitude, and ruptured relationships. Bátiz’s prose is raw, honest, and immediate. To appreciate its beauty, one has only to take in the opening sentence to the story ‘Uncle Ko’s One Thousand Lives’: ‘When no one expected his return anymore, when almost everyone believed he must be dead, he appeared out of nowhere at our door.’
” —Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes, The Illegal, and Beatrice and Croc HarryProfoundly moving and beautifully written, Martha Bátiz’s No Stars in the Sky spans different countries and timelines but always circles back to keen observances of the human experience. With a writing style so gorgeous and spare, Bátiz has a remarkable capacity to draw out moments both significant and small, to find the deepest meaning in little snippets of time. Each story is its own universe that transports the reader through the characters’ joy and pain, turmoil and resilience, from the hills of inland Mexico to the streetcars of Toronto and beyond. A brilliant collection.
” —Amy Stuart, author of Still Mine, Still Water, and Still HereThese are stories for the twenty-first century. Their geography is as vast as their violence. Bátiz has a powerful gift for empathy, entering the mind of a disappeared boy in Argentina, a fourteen-year-old girl exploited at the US/ Mexico border, and female asylum seekers sharing their grief. The power of these stories comes from the writer’s understanding of the politics of exploitation and her refusal to look away.
” —Rosemary Sullivan, author of Stalin's Daughter and The Betrayal of Anne FrankNo Stars in the Sky is a beautifully written, masterfully crafted collection that explores the trauma of loss. Its vivid characters stayed with me long after I finished the book.
” —Marina Nemat, author of Prisoner of Tehran and After TehranBrimming with unforgettable characters who find themselves in unimaginable circumstances No Stars in the Sky shines with brilliance and will leave you breathless. Bátiz’s prose sparkles against the dark background of heartbreaking choices and harsh realities, and lights up the senses. This book is meant to be read slowly and savoured.
” —Christina Kilbourne, author of Safe Harbour and The Limitless SkyIn No Stars in the Sky, Martha Bátiz travels across countries and cultures with confidence, humour, and an ear for the musicality of language. Her stories, both beautiful and terrifying, deal with loss, depression, injustice, and the need to love and be loved. A refreshing collection written by an author in full control of her literary style.
” —Pura López-Colomé, author of Speaking in Song and Borrosa Imago Mundi