Por qué volvías cada verano / Why Did You Come Back Every Summer
Novel , 2018
Las afueras
Pages: 136
Why Did You Come Back Every Summer describes the abuse the author was subjected to during her adolescence by a relative who was in the police force, as well as the consequences that this case had for her family and social environment.
Using harsh, direct language, Belén López Peiró criticises the system, the network of silence that was intended to gag her, and herself. And she does so, not only to denounce those events, but also to condemn the context that made them possible and to reconstitute through writing what the violence of her brutal aggressor destroyed.
Using a fractured structure that interweaves different voices and judicial texts, the author has created a polyphonic book that is hard to catalogue. A work that draws on the author’s personal experience and literature to become a political act that forces us to look where we would rather not.
“Belén López Peiró recounts sexual abuse in unambiguous terms but with a lot of literature.” Mauro Libertella
“An exquisite work, a powerful political intervention. And very necessary.” Gabriela Cabezón Cámara
“López Peiró writes with authority, navigating the novel’s tough subject matter while avoiding clichéd pitfalls. Fearless and distinctive, this is vital reading.” Publishers Weekly
“A perfect and precise book that tackles macho violence and makes the picture that supports impunity emotionally palpable.” Gabriela Wiener
“The map of what happens to us, finally in full. Essential reading.” Brigitte Vasallo
“For me the definitive book on sexual abuse, as well as the discovery of an author who I want to read much more of.” Nuria Labari
Press links:
"Ese ruido tan familiar del abuso sexual" por Gabriela Wiener. elDiario.es, 27.11.20
Reseña de Por qué volvías cada verano en el blog "Leer es vivir dos veces". 05.12.20
"Per què tornàvem cada estiu" por Brigitte Vasallo. Diari Ara, 07.12.20
Paloma Abad entrevista a Belén López Peiró para Vogue, 10.12.20
Entrevista a Belén López Peiró en Llanuras. Por Anna Maria Iglesia, 23.12.20
"El abuso de la memoria" por Ricardo Martínez Llorca. Revista de Letras, 04.01.21
Reportaje sobre Por qué volvías cada verano en Ahora Qué Leo (La Sexta), 09.01.21
María Taosa entrevista a Belén López Peiró en "Si no puedo bailar" de Radio 3 (RTVE), 11.01.21
"¿Por qué te dejaste?" por Elvira Lindo. El País, 17.01.21
"Cuando la justicia es una profecía autocumplida" por Laura Miyara. La Voz de Galicia, 18.01.20