“The Claws of the Forest,” a picaresque tale of a Spanish nun who became a soldier in the Americas
“The Claws of the Forest,” published in French on September 3, is inspired by the true story of a 17th-century Spanish nun, Catalina de Erauso, who went to join the army in the New World colonies under a male identity. Argentine writer Gabriela Cabezón Cámara has won several prestigious awards for this unique novel.
It is a legendary and eccentric figure from the 17th century that the Argentinian Gabriela Cabezón Cámara takes on in Les Griffes de la forêt, published in French by Grasset on September 3. In it, she tells the story of Catalina de Erauso, nicknamed the “Lieutenant nun.” This Basque nun, who joined the Spanish army under a male identity, then left for the Americas. She fought under the flags of the Spanish Empire before fleeing, freeing two Indian women, Michï and Mitãkuña.
“With The Claws of the Forest, Cabezón Cámara proves once again that she deserves to be considered one of the most influential voices in contemporary Latin American literature, thanks to a novel in which she brilliantly combines all the issues that cross her mind: feminisms, gender constraints, the consequences of colonialism, the importance of environmental preservation and, of course, good literature,” writes the Argentinian news website Infobae .
Born in 1592 in San Sebastian, Spain, and died in 1650 in Cotlaxtla, New Spain (the city is now in Mexico), Catalina de Erauso traveled through Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru under the name of Antonio, a soldier who would take part in several wars.
Courrier International
