Raised in a poor family in San Blas, a neighborhood "with a saint's name but forsaken by God," the protagonist grows up knowing she is different. She is a girl trapped in a male body, forced to navigate a world that offers no vocabulary or space for her identity. The book’s title, La mala costumbre (The Bad Habit), refers to the societal habit of repressing and marginalizing those who are different, as well as the "bad habit" the protagonist must break to finally inhabit her true self.
La mala costumbre (translated as Bad Habit in English), the debut novel by Spanish author, historian, and activist , has emerged as a groundbreaking work in contemporary literature. It is a lyrical, brutal, and deeply empathetic coming-of-age story that captures the experience of a young trans woman growing up in working-class Madrid during the 1980s and 1990s.
: Uno de los aspectos más destacados de "La Mala Costumbre" es la forma en que la autora aborda la capacidad de resiliencia del ser humano. La protagonista, a pesar de enfrentar situaciones extremas, encuentra la fuerza para seguir adelante y luchar por su bienestar.
Key to guide your reading. Which of these aspects Share public link La mala costumbre - Alana S. Portero.epub
La escritura de Alana S. Portero en "La Mala Costumbre" se caracteriza por su sencillez y profundidad. La autora utiliza un lenguaje directo y accesible, lo que hace que la historia sea fácil de seguir y entender. Sin embargo, no por ello pierde profundidad; al contrario, consigue explorar temas complejos con una madurez y sensibilidad admirables.
What elevates La mala costumbre from a memoir-style novel to a literary triumph is Alana S. Portero’s background as a poet, dramatist, and classical scholar.
Navigating the Streets of Madrid: An In-Depth Look at Alana S. Portero's "La mala costumbre" (Bad Habit) Raised in a poor family in San Blas,
High praise has come from unexpected places. In August 2024, pop superstar Dua Lipa praised the novel on her Instagram, calling it a study of identity, love, and acceptance in post-Franco Spain. She announced it as a pick for her Service95 book club, stating she had felt "real chills" from the first pages.
Read La mala costumbre if you are tired of sanitized queer stories told from a gentrified perspective. Read it if you want to understand how class and gender intersect in the dirt and blood of real life. Read it if you have a "bad habit" of your own—the habit of hiding, of hurting, or of believing you don’t deserve love.
As a teenager, she begins to explore Madrid’s clandestine nightlife and the gay neighborhood of Chueca , living as a woman by night while maintaining a male persona by day. La mala costumbre (translated as Bad Habit in
As the protagonist ventures out of her neighborhood, she discovers a lineage of trans women—sex workers, night owls, and survivors—who act as chosen family and tragic mentors.
For some readers exploring themes of gender identity, reading an e-book offers a private space to connect with sensitive, deeply personal narratives.