Home Reading Service

In this poignant novel that brilliantly recalls both Moravia and Vargas Llosa, a man guilty of a minor offense finds an unexpected path forward by way of his punishment—reading to others.   After an accident—or “the misfortune,” as his cancer-ridden father’s caretaker calls it—Eduardo is sentenced to a year of community service reading to the elderly and disabled. Stripped of his driver’s license and feeling impotent as he nears thirty-five, he leads a dull, lonely life, chatting occasionally with the waitresses of a local restaurant or walking the streets of Cuernavaca. Once a quiet town known for its lush gardens and swimming pools, the “City of Eternal Spring” is now plagued by robberies, kidnappings, and the other myriad forms of violence bred by drug trafficking.    When he first enters into the homes of his listeners, Eduardo seems unable to connect: He movingly reads the words...