Cuban Javier is sick of living in a loveless, dysfunctional relationship and plans to break up with his Argentine girlfriend but on the eve of their "break-up- dinner-date" she is diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer and is given approximately one month to live. When she wishes to return home to die, he decides out of guilt not to end their relationship and out of obligation to accompany her to Buenos Aires. Against their better judgement the two embark on a journey of the heart, self discovery, and experience a re- awakening of their love for one another. But is it real or are they both using it as a way to escape the reality of their situation?
As Gloria goes through the death process she begins to turn inwardly, towards her spiritual self, searching for enlightenment - her wish is to die unto herself before she dies physically. Yet her heart is torn between seeking spiritual truth and a romantic resurgence of her love for Cuban.
The book is broken up into two parts: Dreamer and Seeker. Dreamer is told from Cuban's point of view and chronicles up to the point of them leaving for Buenos Aires. Seeker continues on from where Dreamer left off but with Gloria narrating. Both are very different in style and tone and this allows the author to cover a lot of ground by doing this. The book weaves it's way effortlessly, through college humour to profound spiritual insights.
Ultimately, this break-through Novella is a daring and challenging work, which has a lot going for it but wont be for everyone. If you liked Kazuo Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go" and Hermann Hesse's spiritual masterpiece "Siddhartha" and can somehow imagine a exhilarating mix between the two of them and Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity" - then this book is for you.
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