Partially autobiographical, this translation of the Spanish Patas de Avestruz is a masterpiece of introspective, linguistically innovative fiction about the relationship between two sisters - one severely handicapped, the other gifted yet overlooked. Mariana is four years older than her sister Alcira, but Mariana is seriously disabled and slowly dying. Conveying the experience of a physically messy process, this account points out the flaws in adult society through the point-of-view of its child protagonist. At its core, the novel is about the abuse of power and its consequences - whether that abuse is by a government, a parent, or a child.