Presentimientos. (Premonitions)

Reviewed by María Elena Cruz, NY. -- Críticas, 8/15/2008 8:55:00 AM

Sánchez, Clara.
Spain: Alfaguara: Santillana. 2008. 390p. ISBN 978-970-58-0407-6. $24.99. FICTION

The eighth book by the winner of the 2000 Premio Alfaguara, is a page-turning psychological drama that sheds light on the fragility of reality and on the complexity of human relationships. The apparently monotonous life of a married couple with an eight-month old baby is disrupted when, on vacation, Julia, the wife, has an accident that submerges her in a deep sleep. Julia dreams that her purse was stolen when she went out to buy milk for her son, and she gets lost trying to find her way back to the apartment they are staying at during their vacation. For her, this dream is her real world no matter how absurd the things that happen to her may seem. Her husband, Felix, spends that whole week visiting Julia at the hospital, taking care of son Tito, and trying to find a way to help Julia wake up. Both stories converge when Felix, in his search to find ways to stimulate Julia in her sleep, finds out that she has a lover. The plot is engaging and surprisingly real, and Sánchez´s appealing characters are regular people with average jobs and lives we can appreciate. This insightful novel, with its simple language and detailed descriptions, is highly recommended for all bookstores and large public libraries and an excellent choice for summer reading.

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