Fish Soup

From internationally acclaimed author Margarita García Robayo comes Fish Soup , a unique collection comprising two novellas and the book of short stories Worse Things (winner of the prestigious Casa de las Américas Prize).  Set on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, Waiting for a Hurricane follows a girl obsessed with escaping both her life and her country. Emotionally detached from her family, and disillusioned with what the future holds if she remains, she takes ever more drastic steps to achieve her goal, seemingly oblivious to the damage she is causing both herself and those around her.  The seven tales of Worse Things offer snapshots of lives in turmoil, frayed relationships, dreams of escape, family taboos and rejection of and by society. García Robayo paints in just enough detail to evoke the intensity of the situation, while leaving it to the reader to unravel the true meaning of events.  Sexual Education examines the attempts of a student to tally the strict doctrine of abstinence taught at her school with the very different moral norms that prevail in her social circles. Semi-autobiographical, the frank depiction of these opposing forces makes it deeply unsettling.  Throughout the collection, García Robayo’s signature style blends cynicism and beauty with a rich vein of dark humour. The prose is at once blunt and poetic as she delves into the lives of her characters, who simultaneously evoke sympathy and revulsion, challenging the reader’s loyalties throughout the remarkable universe that is Fish Soup .