A surreal noir, an outlandish, bizarre, and authentic comedy. A courageous and vibrant novel that gives its readers no respite.

Madrid—a completely unique Madrid—is once again the stage for Esther García Llovet’s singular narrative. In this occasion, the protagonist is a comedian nicknamed Castor, famous for his television monologues. Castor’s life is governed by luck and fate. And by testing fate, he meets his double, a waiter named Julio. They are like two peas in a pod, and Castor realizes that Julio can maybe take his place at certain soirees, because he hates them. But of course, it doesn’t take long for things to get complicated and give rise to a series to hectic, frenzied events. And like so, an escape, a kidnapping, a pair of comedians—one of them a gypsy and the other Argentine—a club in the middle of the desert in Almería, a scam, a scammer about to become a murderer, Chinese men who invest in real estate and television, a cruise down the Danube, and even a UFO all fit into this novel that is as concise as it is resounding.

A surreal noir, an outlandish, bizarre, and authentic comedy. A vibrant novel that gives its readers no respite. A new demonstration of the immense and concentrated talent of Esther García Llovet—one of the most original, secret (less so every time), and essential voices of current Spanish literature.

“A unique writer who looks at the shadows and presents them to us to demonstrate how the city—like a Russian doll—hides multiple versions of itself within it…A unique style with an unbeatable expertise while she paints a portrait not so much of the marginalized, but that dissenting part that hides within all of us.” —Marina Sanmartín, ABC

“Dry, direct, energetic prose…Reading Esther García Llovet is like watching a shooting star cross the sky and open our minds.” —Miguel Ángel Oeste, El Mundo

“She’s one of those ‘secret’ writers who are addictive.” —Carlos Sala, La Razón

“Her style is like a razor blade.” —Laura Fernánde, Go Mag

“We like García Llovet a lot—her style, her poetics…Her narrative universe includes an undeniable dose of strangeness supported by a sort of inaccessible arcane, like “fatum” in a Greek tragedy. A cult author.” —Sara Mesa

“An exquisite rara avis…This author questions every code, every image, every word…Marvelous.” —Marta Sanz

“An excellent narrator. Brilliant.” —Alberto Olmo