ISBN 978-612-03-2749-4

Reseña

Written with a Switchblade is a raw and gripping collection of short stories set in the marginal underworld of Lima, specifically in the stylized neighborhood of Viqui Victoria (bordering affluent districts like San Isidro and Miraflores). Through a prose that masterfully blends the immediacy of street-level Peruvian slang (jerga) with literary and lyrical density, Herrada Erquiaga delivers a brutal portrayal of inhumane poverty, organized crime, street gangs, and drug addiction. Each story is tightly knit into Latin popular culture, utilizing the titles and themes of classic salsa, cumbia, and bolero songs (by artists like Héctor Lavoe, José Feliciano, Joe Arroyo, and Rubén Blades) as the soundtrack to the characters' misery and survival. Despite the chaos and criminal atmosphere (the lumpen), the book explores the deep humanity that endures on the margins—fractured spaces where loyalty, love, honor, and an aesthetic of resistance still shine through.