| Not a River | |
| Author: | Selva Almada |
| Title Orig: | No es un río |
| Orig Lang Code: | es |
| Translator: | Annie McDermott |
| Country: | Argentina |
| Language: | Spanish |
| Series: | "Trilogía de varones" |
| Publisher: | Random House |
| Publisher2: | Charco Press |
| Pub Date: | 2020 |
| English Pub Date: | 2024 |
| Isbn: | 978-1913867454 |
Not a River (original title: Spanish; Castilian: No es un río) is the third novel by Argentine writer Selva Almada (Villa Elisa, Entre Ríos, 1973). It was first published by Random House in Buenos Aires in 2020[1] and the English translation, by Annie McDermott, was released in 2024 by Edinburgh's Charco Press.[2] The author describes the novel as the third installment in her Trilogía de varones ("Men's Trilogy") following (2012; The Wind That Lays Waste, 2019) and (2013; Brickmakers, 2021).[1]
The novel tells the story of two men from the Argentine littoral who decide to take their dead friend's son on a fishing trip to the same location on the River Paraná where his father drowned years earlier. Tensions arise with the inhabitants of the island where they make camp.[1] [3]
Both Clarín and La Nación included No es un río among their best books of 2020, and it was shortlisted for the in 2021.[2] [4] The English translation was also shortlisted for the 2024 International Booker Prize.[5]