In 1987, an unsecured source of radiotherapy was stolen from an abandoned hospital in Goiânia, Bolivia, resulting in 4 deaths and 249 contaminations. Liliana Colanzi’s debut collection is inspired by this radiological disaster, and each story seizes the reader’s attention through her unpredictable and original storytelling.

Colanzi transgresses the distinction between reality and fiction, time and genre, to create a striking exploration of toxic waste and its impact on the local lives and environment. Where a harmless object or place holds an invisible threat and the reader is left wondering what is real.

You Glow in the Dark is an impactful and experimental collection which exemplifies the genius of Colanzi’s writing. 

“You Glow in the Dark is a mesmerizing mix of gothic horror and cyberpunk that will keep readers on their toes.” The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024, Time

"In [Colanzi’s] tales, violence is something in the air or soil, something ready to take us over or occupy our lives at any moment." Chicago Review of Books

"An eerie mix of the familiar and unreal. Colanzi is intent on blending genres (horror, cyberpunk, literary fiction). Her reality is a warped one, shifting between a violent past and frightening future, where the heat and toxic radiation ― and the babble of inner voices ― combine to create a hallucinatory vision." Anderson Tepper, The New York Times

"Places, molecules, and species sprawl and mutate; centuries-long retrospection, cyberpunk grit, first-person dream narrative, and religious fantasia fit together, simultaneously fabulist and real, vivified by Colanzi’s mysteriously lucid prose… In Colanzi’s writing, reality is grander and weirder than we imagined." Drew Zeiba, Los Angeles Review of Books

ISBN-13: 9781836750048

Weight: 184 grams

Format: Paperback

Country of Origin (language): Bolivia, Spanish

Language: Spanish tr. English

Pub Date: 02/10/2025

Page Extent: 112 Pages