La Mala Costumbre - Alana S. Portero.epub //free\\ May 2026

Title: La mala costumbre by Alana S. Portero: The Sacred Wound of Growing Up Trans in a Hostile World

The narrative spans the late 1980s through the 1990s, set against the backdrop of the heroin epidemic and the shifting social landscape of post-Franco Spain. Childhood in San Blas:

If you are looking for information about the book La mala costumbre by Alana S. Portero (often found in .epub format for digital reading), here are the key details about the work: 📖 Book Overview La mala costumbre - Alana S. Portero.epub

The "bad habit" of the title refers to the self-destructive coping mechanisms imposed by a transphobic environment: self-harm, isolation, self-medication, and the desperate search for refuge in literature, gothic aesthetics, and nocturnal friendships. Yet, far from being a misery memoir, Portero writes with a scalpel. There is beauty, there is sisterhood, and there is a ferocious resistance.

It is recommended for mature readers (18+). However, for trans readers, especially those from working-class backgrounds, many have reported the book as cathartic. As one Goodreads review states: "Portero wrote the diary I was too afraid to keep." Title: La mala costumbre by Alana S

Themes

Report: La mala costumbre by Alana S. Portero

1. Overview

La mala costumbre (translated as The Bad Habit) is a highly acclaimed novel by Spanish writer, historian, and activist Alana S. Portero. Published in 2023 (by the publishing house Seix Barral), the novel has established itself as one of the most important contemporary works of LGBTQ+ literature in Spain. It is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story that explores the construction of identity through the lens of a trans girl growing up in a hostile environment. Portero (often found in

The Literary Kinship

If you love the melancholic grit of Pedro Almodóvar’s Law of Desire or the raw confessionals of Jean Genet, you will find a home here. Portero cites Pedro Lemebel (the Chilean queer writer) as a massive influence, and you can feel that. Like Lemebel, Portero uses the gutter as a pulpit. There is a deep Catholic iconography running through the novel—Virgins, wounds, martyrs—but Portero subverts it. The protagonist’s suffering is not redemptive for society; it is simply hers.

Rating: 5/5 stars. Trigger warnings: Transphobia, self-harm, sexual violence, drug abuse, AIDS crisis.