In La función delta (1981), the second novel of the best-selling Spanish author Rosa Montero, the real world is as unmapped and treacherous as ever for her countrywomen, but more universal concerns impinge. Translated into English by Kari Easton and Yolanda Molina Gavilán, The Delta Function explores a woman's fears of being abandoned, of being alone, and of dying. A unique double narrative structure throws into relief time's effect on her self-identity, sexuality, and relations with others. Readers will be inspired to confront and rethink their own version of the world around them.

Kari Easton is a Spanish instructor at Portland Community College and Yolanda Molina Gavilán is an instructor of foreign languages at Tokyo American Community College.

"First-rate, one of the major works by a woman in Spain during the last quarter-century. It treats many dualities of particular interest in women's writing, among them youth versus aging, marriage or domesticity versus career and self-realization, and conventional sexuality versus a greater sexual equality. Montero addresses a broad range of complex questions with maturity and insight."—Janet Perez, author of Ana María Matute