98 Seconds Without a Shadow

Giovanna Rivero is a Bolivian writer named by the Guadalajara Book Fair as one of the 25 emerging stars of Latin American literature. Her short story collection Fresh Dirt from the Grave , published by Charco Press, introduced her work to English-language readers. Her writing is widely recognised for renewing the fantastic genre in Latin American fiction.Isabel Adey is a literary translator and editor working with Spanish, German and English. Originally from Yorkshire, she now lives in Edinburgh, where she also works as a Royal Literary Fund Fellow. Her translation of Giovanna Rivero’s Fresh Dirt from the Grave was longlisted for the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute translation prize in 2024, following a shortlisting for her co-translation of Marvel Moreno’s December Breeze in 2023. Her translations span multiple disciplines, from literary fiction to nonfiction and academia. She has a passion for writing that deals with cultural identity, class politics and migration.

"Stupendous." —Latin American Literature Today"98 Seconds Without Shadow is a masterpiece that grabs readers by the throat and the eyes with the unforgettable, wild, almost feral voice of Genoveva Bravo Genovés." —Página/12"Wherever you think this book is going, you’re wrong. Rivero slowly turns up the dread in this taut, brilliant coming-of-age novel, building to an ending that will leave you breathless." —Catherine Chidgey , author of PET "I just finished your book. Bravo! I walked with you through that painful journey into the past, into the terrible loneliness of adolescence. I am Genoveva. Clara Luz has been Genoveva, and still bears the scars. We have all been Genoveva, and felt her terrible solitude. Your language hit me like a club—like a flood of letters. Please keep writing!" —Geraldine Chaplin"More than a coming-of-age novel, 98 Seconds Without Shadow reads like unsettling science fiction—a vision of a society so corrupt in its business, emotions, and justice, that only horror or blind faith seem able to restore balance. Disturbing and unsparing, the reader is (luckily) left abandoned at the end, forced to find their own way." —Revista Ñ**********Praise for Giovanna RiveroQueen Sofía Spanish Institute Translation Prize (Longlist)"Rivero confidently and credibly gives voice to characters in harrowing situations." —Publishers Weekly"These are visceral tales of betrayal both personal and societal, some of which cross over into the realm of the uncanny.”" —Words Without Borders"An intriguing and discomforting set of stories, each with its own particular bite, and more than a twist or two along the way." —Tony's Reading List************