A sumptuous and surreal historical reimagining of one of South America’s best-known trans men, Antonio de Erauso

The new novel from the International Booker-shortlisted author of The Adventures of China Iron

‘Gabriela Cabezón Cámara’s writing is singular in the Spanish language: an intrepid pulse that shakes and disarms us’ FERNANDA MELCHOR

‘Not only does Cámara challenge and incite us, she also gives us the subversive courage to think of ourselves as more human, more alive, and more luminous than ever’ SAMANTA SCHWEBLIN

From deep in the wilds of the New World, Antonio writes a letter to his aunt, the prioress of the same Basque convent he escaped as a young girl. Since transforming into Antonio, he has had monumental adventures and taken on numerous guises. He has been a mule driver, shopkeeper, soldier, cabin boy and conquistador. He has wielded his sword and slashed with his dagger.

Now, hiding in the jungle and hounded by the army he deserted, Antonio is looking after two Guaraní girls he rescued from enslavement. But the New World has one more metamorphosis in store, which might save them all from extinction.

Based on the life of Antonio de Erauso, a real figure from the Spanish conquest, We Are Green and Trembling is a masterful criticism of religious tyranny and the mistreatment of women and indigenous people.

This queer, baroque, tender and surreal novel conveys glimmers of hope for the future within the brutal colonial history of Latin America – finding in the rainforest a magical space where transformation is not only possible but necessary.

Translated by Robin Myers

"Cabezón Cámara’s entrancing poetry reminds us how magical and frankly unpleasant it is to live through history - New York Times