(#gifted @fmcmassociates) A newly translated collection of short stories from Brazilian author Natalia Borges Polesso, Amora brings together stories about women loving women in all forms. These stories can be tender, sensual, angry, erotic, humorous, sad, and all of them have that ring of authenticity, when you know you're reading essentially a slice of life.
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As with most short story collections, there were ones that resonated more with me and others that didn't make much of an impression, but I'd definitely say more of the former! It's split into two sections, 'Big & Juicy', which are around 10 pages each, and 'Short & Tart', which are flash fiction, some just half a page, but no more than three. I preferred the more developed stories in the first part, but the micro-fiction was well done too, particularly Profanation, written in the second person, and Memory, which just made me achingly sad but in a good way.
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Of the longer stories, my favourites were Grandma, Are You a Lesbian? where we see a young girl feel more at peace with her sexuality once she realises she shares more in common with her grandma than she thought. There is a theme of older queer women in my favourites, as I also loved Marília Wakes Up, a tender portrayal of an older couple's Sunday morning routine, which is being derailed by age and forgetfulness, although their love is still strong. I love those stories which celebrate the everyday ordinariness of a relationship, the silly inside jokes that would seem meaningless to anyone outside of it, like in My Cousin's In Town.
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The translation from Portuguese by Julia Sanchez is very smooth, and she does a good job handling instances of dialect and slang, which could be difficult to render effectively in English. I did think a few too many stories were narrated in the first person, which led to some of them blending together a bit.
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I definitely recommend if you have an interest in LGBTQ+ lit, especially in translation! Out later this month, perfect timing for Pride Month next month!