Gabriela Wiener's memoir 'Undiscovered' explores ancestry, desire, and racial legacies

Gabriela Wiener's memoir 'Undiscovered' examines the moral burdens of ancestry through her family history, focusing on her nineteenth-century explorer ancestor Charles Wiener. The Lima-born author grapples with racial divisions and mixing in Peru, noting her father married a chola while her mother wed a white mestizo. Wiener's personal life in Madrid involves a polyamorous relationship with her Spanish girlfriend Roci and her cholo husband, challenging traditional family structures. The book delves into Charles Wiener's repudiation of his Jewish roots, including his name change and conversion to Catholicism to evade antisemitism, culminating in his receipt of France's Légion d'Honneur. Wiener confronts impostor syndrome and a crisis when her lineage from Charles is questioned due to an ambiguous Peruvian birth certificate. Her emotional journey includes a self-destructive affair in Lima and participation in 'Decolonize My Desire' sessions with other women of color. The memoir finds resolution through Roci's unexpected pregnancy, with Wiener becoming a co-mother, redefining familial bonds. Published by Pushkin Press and translated by Julia Sanches, the hardcover is priced at £14.99. It addresses the tensions of decolonization, where individuals bear responsibility for historical injustices embedded in their identities.