The bitch

Colombia's Pacific coast, where everyday life entails warding off the brutal forces of nature.

Damaris lives with her fisherman husband in a shack on a bluff overlooking the sea.

Childless and at that age 'when women dry up,' as her uncle puts it, she is eager to adopt an orphaned puppy.

But this act may bring more than just affection into her home.

The Bitch is written in a prose as terse as the villagers, with storms - both meteorological and emotional - lurking around each corner.

Beauty and dread live side by side in this poignant exploration or the many meanings of motherhood and love.