In this novel Munoz Molina sets out to do the impossible, to remember those who have perished in the great disasters of our century and before. As he says, "Love, suffering, even some of the greatest hells on Earth are erased after one or two generations, and a day comes when there is not one living witness who can remember." The narrator begins with his own story, but soon he is encompassing the lives and memories of both historical and fictional characters. Primo Levy makes an appearance, as does Franz Kafka. What they all have in common is having endured suffering and loss. Sometimes the narrator addresses himself, sometimes he takes on another's identity to see… Read more
