Book Descriptions
for La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono
From The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)
Lambda Literary Award Finalist, 2018, Honour title for Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated Young Adult Book Prize, 2018, Chosen for the ALA's Over the Rainbow List, Chosen for the ALA's Rainbow Book List, World Literature Today's Notable Translations of 2018.
Author lives in Equatorial Guinea.
Spanish. Originally published in Spain as La bastarda by Flores Raras in 2016. English translation by Lawerence Schime published in the United States by The Feminist Press at the City University of New York in 2018.
From the Publisher
A teenage orphan’s quest of self-discovery in Equitorial Guinea, and a "unique contribution to LGBTQ literature" (Kirkus Reviews).
“Though I live a world away from Equatorial Guinea, I saw so much of myself in Okomo: a tomboy itching to be free and to escape society’s rigged game. I cheered her on with every page, and wished—for myself and all girls—for the bravery to create our own world.” —Maggie Thrash, author of Honor Girl
The first novel by an Equatorial Guinean woman to be translated into English, La Bastarda is the story of the orphaned teen Okomo, who lives under the watchful eye of her grandmother and dreams of finding her father. Forbidden from seeking him out, she enlists the help of other village outcasts: her gay uncle and a gang of “mysterious” girls reveling in their so-called indecency. Drawn into their illicit trysts, Okomo finds herself falling in love with their leader and rebelling against the rigid norms of Fang culture.