From Publishers Weekly
Moises Froissard's job is "to save lives." At least, that's what he tries to believe throughout
El Mundo columnist Bonilla's bittersweet fourth novel. While there may be a grain of truth in his proclamation, the reality of Moises's occupation is less noble: he's a "scout" for secretive, exclusive Club Olympus, a supplier of beautiful and expensive prostitutes to the rich and famous. As a scout, Moises travels to exotic (and, usually, poverty-stricken) locales in search of beautiful men, women and children willing to become "models" for the club as a way out of their grim circumstances. While proud of his growing list of recruits, Moises is guarded about his job and uses his travels to isolate himself from his troubled family. Though the fleeting emotional attachments he sometimes forms with the "pieces" he scouts for the club violate the cardinal rule of his employment, it doesn't become a problem until Moises's first recruit, Luzmila, becomes a scout. When the two are pitted against each other in a race to recruit the "Nubian Prince," a handsome African coveted by an obsessed client, Luzmila relishes the opportunity to upstage Moises as revenge for recruiting her, and Moises is forced to confront his growing distaste for the job.
(July) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
He tells himself he is saving lives. Moises Froissard, 22, gives up his philanthropic work as an artist without borders and becomes a global talent scout, searching for beautiful illegal immigrants--men, women, and especially children--and persuading them to enjoy the good life as prostitutes rented out to the wealthy. His boss, who runs the sex training and supply business, is direct: famines and floods are a boon because they give the trade some beautiful "pieces," provided that the famine has not done them too much damage before the scouts get there. She especially wants Moises to grab one gorgeous African illegal who she could market as "the Nubian prince." This is more a short story or situation than a novel, but it was a prizewinner in Spain, and the English translation ably captures the casual, intimate first-person narrative. The dark mockery of the powerful and the self-righteous is in eloquent contrast to the exploitation and the heartfelt anguish of those with no home.
Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
