Un encargo difícil
» Nadal Award 2005
» Shortlisted for the Publishers’ Award (Premio Fundación José Manuel Lara)
A magnificent novel of survivors and, at the same time, an ode to the inexhaustible energy with which we recover from the misfortunes dealt us by history.
The summer of 1940. Leonor, the wife of a high-ranking Republican who was shot at the end of the war, and her daughter Camila are forced into exile on the Island of Cabrera. There they will live amongst a married couple that runs a miserable cantina, a few fishermen, a German hermit and military outpost terrified by the threat of an attack by the British Army.
Meanwhile, in Majorca, a man is given an assignment by the authorities that could redeem him from his murky past. Pedro Zarraluki uses a thrilling plot to convert this Mediterranean island into a unique world in which reinventing relationships and the rules is crucial to creating harmony. A lucid narrative inquiry that ranges from friendship to vows of silence, from disheartenment to optimism.
In Un encargo difícil, two women show us that even in the worst conditions it is possible to start your life over. Because all that which makes us happy always depends more on the integrity of certain people than on the laws that govern us.
PRESS
«One can either read A Difficult Assignment as a detective novel, or as a magnificent narration about living in exile.» Ramón Chao, Le Monde Diplomatique
«This great book of sober narrative, is ultimately a book of hope, and of faith in humanity; of the unexpected resources of men who think they have reached the bottom of the barrel.» Christophe Mercier, Le Figaro
«A Difficult Assignment is a very good novel (…) an honor for the Nadal Award.» J.E. Ayala-Dip, El País
«…an impressive mastery of rhythm (…) sublime moments.» J.M. Pozuelo Yvancos, ABC
«…a wonderful novel.» Gonzalo García Pino, La Razón
TRANSLATIONS
France: Plon; Greece: Metaixmio; Italy: Neri Pozza; Macedonia: Terra Magica; Netherlands: Bruna-Signature; Portugal: Texto
