Qué vergüenza: nine short stories about survivors, people who despite their repeated setbacks always see light at the end of a tunnel, who never give in and who hesitate at nothing. That’s how Paulina Flores describes her story collection. The first story, which has the same title as the collection, is the story about de little sisters Pia and Simone. It’s a hot summer day in 1996. The two girls accompany their unemployed father on his way to his umpteenth job interview, this time at a casting agency. During the long walk in the blazing sun, old memories are stirred up and Paulina builds up the tension. Once they arrive at the casting agency, the story takes an unexpected turn… This tough, but at the same time tender and moving story shows us the transition to maturity.

In this debut novel, Paulina Flores writes about themes like inequality, women empowerment and family problems, with a ludic tone. All nine stories are based on the social middle class, because Paulina knows that middle class very well and she wants to go to the bottom of it. In an interview, she explains that the writing process of this novel describes her as a person: someone who constantly faces ups and downs.

Qué vergüenza has been published by the Chilean publishing house Hueders. In 2016, the collection came out in Spain (Seix Barral). By now the rights are sold to the Netherlands, China and Italy. The Dutch rights have been sold to Atlas Contact. This translation is made for The Chronicles Projects.