Selva Almada Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Selva Almada is a published author born in Entre Rios in Argentina on January 1, 1973.

She is thought to be one of the strongest voices of contemporary Argentinian and Latin American literature. She is also one of the most well known and influential feminist intellectuals of the region.

Almada came out with her debut novel The Wind that Lays Waste and has come out with more novels as well as a book of collected short stories, Dead Girls (a book of journalistic fiction), and a film diary written in the set of Lucrecia Martel’s film Zama based on the novel by Antonio di Benedetto.

The author has been a finalist for the Rodolfo Walsh Award and for the Tigre Juan Award, which are both in Spain. Her writing and work has been popular enough that it has been translated into a variety of languages, which include Turkish, Swedish, Dutch, German, Portuguese, Italian, and French.

Her novel This is Not a River came out in Argentina, and Brickmakers is her third book to come out in English. With so many quality works already under her belt, Almada is an author that readers can look forward to enjoying for a long time.

Brickmakers is a 2013 book by Selva Almada. If you’ve been looking for a new book to add to your library and want something to switch things up, check out this book that is sort of like Romeo and Juliet but if they were set in a very specific world.

Oscar Tamai and Elvio Miranda are the patriarchs of two different families of brickmakers. The families for years have had a mutual hatred of each other, but they never saw coming that the teen sons of each family would fall in love.

Pájaro and Ángelito have fallen for each other and now they must see how it plays out. The book opens with Pájaro and Marciano (the older brother of Ángelito) are on the ground lying in the mud at the base of a Ferris wheel while they are dying. They are in the dreamlike state that exists between life and death and as they are there they are able to recall the different events that made them pay the price for the feud of their fathers.

Now the Tamai and Miranda families find themselves stuck in the middle of a mythical conflict with each other, one that comes from stubborn pride and machismo that will not back down. It’s just like a modern version of the feud that existed between the Capulets and the Montagues. This is a portrayal of many different characters who may seem to be opposed to each other at first but ultimately will end up having a lot in common.

With this book, Almada takes the tradition of some of the most distinctive prose stylists to write in our time. In this book, she goes after what masculinity is and looks to outline the realities when it comes to living a working class rural life. A new voice in fiction that tells this powerful story well– check out Brickmakers to find out what happens in the end!

The Wind That Lays Waste is a 2019 novel by Selva Almada. This is an awesome portrait that shows four people that are put together through the course of just one day in rural Argentina.

This story starts in the calm that comes before a storm. Reverend Pearson is doing what he is supposed to and evangelizing across the Argentinian countryside to spread the good word of the Lord. With him at this time is Leni, his teen daughter. When their care breaks down, it’s just another thing being thrown at them to deal with.

The car breaking down randomly could be seen as an act of God or fate. This ends up taking the two of them to the workshop and to live at the home of an aging mechanic who goes by the name of Gringo Brauer as well as a young boy who goes by the name of Tapioca.

A long day ends up going by and as it does, curiosity and intrigue end up changing into something else– an intimacy between four people that is completely unexpected. One includes a man who believes in God, morality, and his righteousness, and another man where the life experiences that he has had have only enforced the moral relativism he has and his apathy.

There is also a mechanic’s assistant who is idealistic and earnest and a preacher’s daughter who is restless and skeptical. The tensions going on between these characters can be stronger and weaker throughout time, and as beliefs come into question and allegiances become tested, it’s only a matter of time before a storm breaks out.

This is a wonderful book from Selva Almada and one that readers won’t want to miss. At times poetic, at other times profound, this is a beautiful and unique novel that is only the start of what this incredible author has to offer. Check out The Wind That Lays Waste to follow along with every word!