Millás, Juan José

Although an indirect way to approach a subject, even in translation there is literary sparkle to the text and plenty to learn.

Readers are forced to suspend disbelief, as they, like the protagonist, are drawn into Lucía’s alternate world and are at times unsure which one is veridical. Millás’s character portrayals, especially of Lucía, are masterly, but the disjointed episodic narration and extraneous elements leave a loose end or two. A disquieting fantasy of the Kafkian variety that’s both unsettling and absurd.