Synopsis

A wounded and stubborn marriage is a perfect time bomb. It's a duel in which the heart and the head always have equal weight, and intelligence can even complicate matters. What small and large cruelties can be inflicted upon one another when one chooses to stay despite everything, while the wedding ring rolls into the pocket of one's jeans and then into the cutlery drawer? Anger is a passion, and the violence of the time Claudia and Antonio live together, even when it's frozen, can unsettle both, dragging them toward an unpredictable, almost noirish ending. Because there are two mysteries to solve in this book. One is sentimental: what is this love? What is the substance that binds two people, torn between mutual need and the desire for revenge? But the other mystery concerns a guilt that cannot be hidden forever. He is at the top of a ladder leaning against a tree in the garden. Suddenly, the ladder sways; he searches for a handhold among the branches and finds none. She watches his back bend backward, his arms swinging in the air. He falls to the ground and doesn't get up. The paramedics strap him to the stretcher, load him into the ambulance, and ask her to get in. But she goes back into the house, takes off her sweater, and starts tidying up. This is how this powerful novel begins, powerfully overturning all the clichés about love. It mercilessly focuses the camera on the ferocity that disappointment and hurt can generate in a couple. When he returns from the hospital after his heart attack, both of them—as if held together by an invisible glue—must confront their pain and their dark sides. The only common language seems to be a few misunderstood words and many gestures that begin as caresses and end up resembling slaps. An escalation of cruelty that leaves you breathless.