We Are Green and Trembling

We Are Green and Trembling
Original titleLas niñas del naranjel
TranslatorRobin Myers
PublisherPenguin Random House (Spanish), Harvill Secker (English)
Publication date
2023
Published in English
2025
ISBN978-6073838122

We Are Green and Trembling (Spanish: Las niñas del naranjel, lit. 'The Girls from the Orange Grove') is a 2023 novel by Argentine writer Gabriela Cabezón Cámara. The novel is a reimagining of the life of Antonio de Erauso, a 17th-century explorer of the Americas who was born a woman but lived as a man.[1] An English translation by Robin Myers was published in 2025. The novel has received positive reviews and several awards.

Premise

15-year-old Catalina de Erauso escapes from the convent where she was a novice. She goes to America, going under the name Antonio and dressing as a man. After escaping the gallows, Antonio makes a promise to the Virgin of the Orange Grove (La Virgen del Naranjel) to tell his story to his aunt, the prioress, and to rescue two Guaraní girls, Michi y Mitãkuña, from enslavement at the hands of Spaniards.

Reception

The novel received positive reviews upon release. Reviewers praised Cabezón's mixed use of Guarani, 16th-century Spanish and Basque in the novel.[1][2] Cabezón's social and political commentary also attracted attention: One reviewer, comparing We Are Green and Trembling to Cabezón's previous work, The Adventures of China Iron, commented that both works critique colonialist values in favor of indigenous values;[3] Brock Kingsley of the Chicago Review of Books praised the prose, social and political commentary of We Are Green And Trembling, calling the novel "profoundly resonant with our current moment".[4] Isaac Zamet of the Financial Times criticized the lack of "forward motion of narrative", but felt that it was compensated by the "meditative lyricism" of the novel.[5]

The novel was listed among the best books of 2023 by the Argentine online newspaper Infobae.[6]

Accolades

References

  1. ^ a b López Peiró, Belén (14 February 2024). "'Las niñas del naranjel', de Gabriela Cabezón Cámara: aventuras en la selva de la Monja Alférez" ["We Are Green and Trembling", by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara: the nun-lieutenant's adventures in the forest]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  2. ^ Aletto, Carlos (12 November 2023). ""Las niñas del naranjel", una novela histórica atípica de Gabriela Cabezón Cámara" ["We Are Green and Trembling", an unusual historical novel by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara]. Página 12 (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  3. ^ Salas Carrillo, Gisela (2025). "Review of Las niñas del naranjel". Confluencia. 40 (2): 158–159. ISSN 0888-6091. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  4. ^ Kingsley, Brock (6 June 2025). "The Importance of Representation in "We Are Green and Trembling"". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  5. ^ Zamet, Isaac (16 July 2025). "We Are Green and Trembling — the haunting, hallucinatory story of Antonio de Erauso". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Estos son los libros que más nos gustaron en 2023" [These are the books we liked most in 2023]. infobae (in European Spanish). 29 December 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  7. ^ Kolesnicov, Patricia (28 October 2024). "La argentina Gabriela Cabezón Cámara ganó el Premio Sor Juana por la historia de la monja que se hizo alférez: "Hoy estamos bajo asedio"" [The Argentine Gabriela Cabezón Cámara won the Sor Juana Prize for the story of the nun who became a lieutenant: "Today we are under assault"]. Infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  8. ^ "A (literary) coronation of glory: Gabriela Cabezón Cámara wins US National Book Award". Buenos Aires Herald. 20 November 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  9. ^ Limbong, Andrew (20 November 2025). "Here are the winners of the 2025 National Book Awards". NPR. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  10. ^ Creamer, Ella (24 February 2026). "Witches, Nazi collaborators and banned books: International Booker prize announces 2026 longlist". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  11. ^ "We Are Green and Trembling". Dublin Literary Award. 1 January 2026.
  • ISBN 978-6073838122 (Spanish: Penguin Random House)
  • ISBN 978-1787304765 (English: Harvill Secker)
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