Somewhere : A Novel

Abstract

In Paloma Vidal's unforgettable novel Somewhere , an Argentine-Brazilian woman narrates her struggles to determine her identity and maintain relationships while moving between three languages and as many locations: Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, and Buenos Aires, her birthplace. The novel’s shifting first-, second-, and third-person narration mirrors the fragmentation the protagonist feels and encounters around her, engaging themes of immigration, identity, translation, war, and geographical estrangement. Translated into English from Portuguese for the first time, Somewhere reflects the narrator’s persistent attempts to position herself in relation to others and to make each city her own. Given our fraught geopolitical climate, the book's themes will resonate with readers of many different backgrounds.