by Simone Campos
Translated from the Portuguese
by Rahul Bery
Published by Pushkin Vertigo
an imprint of Pushkin Press
Are you ready for this one, people?
If you're looking for a unique & tense read, this is the book to pick up next.
Life doesn't always take us where we're expecting or hoping to be, figuratively OR literally.
Lucinda has lived her whole life in the shadow of her glamorous & outgoing model sister Viviana. She's actually shocked to discover the true nature of Viviana's questionable activities.
This story is presented in three parts, each having its own length, focus, style & pace that fit their particular situations perfectly.
Viviana mysteriously disappears on a trip to São Paulo. With no help from the Police, even after a strange text suggests Viviana is actually still alive, Lucinda has to pause her own life to search for her sister.
Is she being held hostage? Tracking down unknown men from the past seems to be an impossible but necessary task.
This story takes us on a sketchy, uneven path with twists aplenty. There's a great mix of strong female voices & dark moments woven into its pages.
When you can't even take your partner home to meet your family because they've always asked about & hoped to meet your boyfriend, it's tense. But add many other elements, a lot of mini complications rolled into your world & life just seems to be heading for the definition of impossible.
These sisters will have to overcome many barriers & obstacles nobody should really have to experience in a hundred lifetimes. One with a preference to blend in or disappear & the other feeling the need to be seen, their actions will clash & complicate everything.
Their attempts to be truly connected sisters are clumsy but will they manage to be the key to each other's survival?
Thank you to Pushkin Press for including me in this Blog Tour. You always bring intriguing books & stylish writing to a new set of readers.
The translation is so carefully done, allowing the flow of events & characteristics of the story itself to remain crisp & successful.