Mothballs

by Sole Otero, Andrea Rosenberg (Translator)

Overview

In this moving family saga, a teenage woman uncovers the hushed history of sexual violence that shattered her grandmother’s life.

San Martín, Argentina, 2001. Upon her estranged grandmother Vilma’s death, 19-year-old Rocío moves into a house haunted by memories. Seeking a deeper understanding, Ro delves into her family history and uncovers the episodes of violence and betrayal that shattered Vilma’s dreams. All the while, the familiar scent of mothballs permeating the estate serves to remind Ro of the ineluctable spell of the past that she must break in order to forge her own path in life. Tender, heartrending, and leavened with biting humor, Mothballs is at once a moving family saga and a poignant reflection on the need to hold fast to one’s identity, despite how painful it can be. A showcase of tour de force cartooning that marks Sole Otero as a major talent in the global comics scene.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683969617
Publisher:	Fantagraphics Books
Publication date:	08/13/2024
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	812,239
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Sole Otero (b. 1985, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a comic artist, children’s illustrator, and textile designer. She has published the graphic novels Poncho Fue, Intensa, and most recently Naftalina (Mothballs), which won the Fnac-Salamandra Graphic Novel Award in 2019 and the Audience Award from the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2023.

Andrea Rosenberg is a translator who has worked on a variety of novels and graphic narratives in Spanish and Portuguese. Her translations of the graphic novels Run For It by Marcelo D’Salete and The House by Paco Roca won Eisner Awards in 2018 and 2020, respectively.

Editorial Reviews

★ 07/08/2024

With an immersive multigenerational story line and distinctive artwork, Otero’s debut graphic novel charts the ripple effects of wartime decisions. In the words of Ro, an Argentinean college student living in her late grandmother’s house, on “the chain of happenstances that led to my existence... Mussolini’s persecutions are at the top of that list.” In a series of flashbacks, Ro narrates her grandmother’s story: after Vilma’s communist parents flee fascist Italy for Argentina, Vilma and her brother Antonio form a close bond; she even keeps his cross-dressing a secret. When her parents force Vilma to work in a factory at age 12 to put Antonio through school, he promises to return the favor. After he chooses marriage to a woman for whom he must provide instead, Vilma becomes the bitter grudge-holder Ro knew as a child. Vilma dislikes most things, but especially politics—they upended her life once, and she wants nothing to do with “the wrong crowd” again. As Ro comes to resent her friends for ditching her for guys, and shrugs off present-day political unrest, she fears that she’s “going to end up alone,” like Vilma. But with help from her grandmother’s ghost—a shape-shifting portrait drawn in shimmering rainbow pencil marks—Ro realizes she can take charge of her life in ways Vilma couldn’t or wouldn’t. Otero’s brightly colored characters are doll-like yet full of passion, outrage, and schemes, and her storytelling is just as bold and memorable as the drawings. It’s an impressive achievement. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Otero's Mothballs is an unflinching look at family, love and choosing your own path. It stayed with me long after I read it."

Eleanor Davis (The Hard Tomorrow)

"Tender, humorous and heart-wrenching, Mothballs’ family saga highlights the impact of generational trauma, the importance of healing as a family, and of breaking the chain of violence, secrets and sadness. A wonderfully thoughtful debut from Sole Otero"

Broken Frontier - Lydia Turner

"Remarkable."

The New York Times - Sam Thielman

"Mothballs is a profound, captivating work, which tells us about family, guilt, fears and the search for a way that prevents repeating the mistakes of the past."

El Diario de Navarra - Jon Spinaro

"An exciting and colorful reflection on family and identity."

Elle Spain - Gemma Veiga

"A majestic book that portrays the tribulations of a family saga that moves between Italy at the beginning of the 20th century and Argentina at the beginning of the 21st. A sharp reflection on the concept of family and what surrounds it."

El Correo - Borja Crespo

"Sole Otero recounts her dive into the tragedies of her family, against the backdrop of Argentina in the crisis of 2001."

El País - Tommaso Koch