Sophie Demange and Melanie Pérez Arias in conversation with Ximena López Bustamante

The feminine is not always rosy, cheerful and optimistic. The three protagonists of the feminist thriller Las carniceras by Sophie Demange (France) are victims of sexual abuse, whilst a woman who, as she begins to lose her hair, sees her identity falter is portrayed by Melanie Pérez Arias (Venezuela) in her debut novel, Un animal que se deja caer. But if life is not all roses, then let it at least be died a sisterly shade of purple. What is fragile, once broken, becomes a sharp weapon, and Demange’s three butchers begin to take justice into their own hands—and knives—, taking revenge on the men who harass the women in their neighbourhood. Sharp on one side, tender on the other. Faced with a body falling apart, Pérez Arias builds a refuge: a network of three women who support the protagonist whilst her body and inner self undergo transformation.

Simultaneous interpretation from French to Spanish available