A clever and provocative novel written with great security, intelligent humour and huge expressive energy.
Bea Silva is shocked when she comes across an article in the newspaper that says someone has stolen the embalmed skull of the legendary silent film director F.W. Murnau. What’s most surprising is that Bea is convinced she knows who the thief is: Quirós, an underemployed filmmaker who one day showed up at her enormous ramshackle house.
At almost thirty-two, Beatriz is a somewhat aloof college professor, weary of life and almost pathologically erudite. The arrival of Quirós brings out her lucid, hyperactive side and sets her up for a wildly unhinged fall.
“An unmistakable voice, as powerful as it is shrewd, turns this book into an extraordinary work of an unusual quality.” - Jury of the Biblioteca Breve Prize
“A metaliterary portent, cultured, delicious, ingenious, pleasantly ironic, and rife with cinematic references. One of those rare literary mechanisms that pin you to your seat, admiring her writing.” - Adolfo García Ortega
“A great novel of the end of an era.” - Carlos Prada, Babelia
“A clever and provocative novel.” - Manuel Rodríguez Rivero, Babelia
“Raquel Taranilla dazzles with her first novel.” - El Periódico
“A real feast.” - Nadal Suau, El Cultural