Cautery
Spain

Cautery

by Lucía Lijtmaer

Freedom & Resistance Fiction 2022

Summary

A woman in Barcelona is trapped in a relationship that looks perfect from the outside, yet she cannot shake the feeling that her life is quietly falling apart. Haunted by fantasies of an impending apocalypse, she begins to question the promises of romantic love, modern feminism, and the freedom she thought she had achieved. Four centuries earlier, Deborah Moody, a fiercely independent Englishwoman, escapes to colonial America after losing almost everything. Despite their vastly different worlds, both women confront the same uncomfortable truth: independence does not guarantee freedom from the expectations and disappointments imposed by men. Darkly funny, provocative, and sharply observant, Cautery explores heartbreak, female anger, and the radical possibility of starting over when the life you’ve built becomes unbearable.

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Country
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Europe
About the author
Lucía Lijtmaer
Lucía Lijtmaer

Lucía Lijtmaer (born 1977 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a Spanish-Argentine writer, journalist, and cultural critic who grew up in Barcelona. Her work explores popular culture, feminism, gender politics, and the contradictions of contemporary society. She has written for prominent Spanish publications, including El País and El Periódico de Catalunya, bringing a sharp, critical perspective to cultural and political debates. Lijtmaer has published several books of essays and cultural criticism, including Yo también soy una chica lista (I’m a Smart Girl, Too, 2017) and Ofendiditos (2019), which examines the criminalisation of protest and public dissent. Her debut novel, Cauterio (2022), combines contemporary relationship struggles with the historical story of Deborah Moody, a seventeenth-century religious dissenter who established a settlement in colonial America. The novel received attention for its dark humour and uncompromising examination of romantic ideals and female autonomy. Alongside her writing, Lijtmaer co-hosts the award-winning cultural podcast Deforme Semanal with Isa Calderón and curates the feminist cultural festival Princesses and DarthVaders.

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Details
Published
2022
Author
Lucía Lijtmaer