Author: Alejandro Palomas
- Fiction
- Espasa Calpe
- ISBN: 9788467036190
- Release Date: 01-01-1970
-Reviewed by: Adan Griego
"El alma del mundo" is a very engaging text, from the opening chapter when we witness the arrival of Clea (former chello player) and Otto (a retired orchestra director) to Buenavista, a retirement home. Both the chain-smoker dame, who hides behind her witty and at times prickly personality, and the charming Don Juan-like character have chosen the mysterious Ilona as a caregiver/assistant in their new home.
Music will serve a continuous link with all three main characters. Ilona's talent as a luthier provides a healing element. It is her cello building skills that guides us through the pain of a violent upbringing in her native Iron Curtain Hungary.
A narrative "heavy" on existential themes also gives humorous moments, like Clea appearing announced in Otto's room to deliver a contract, establishing the terms for their budding friendship at a crucial moment in their lives when neither one has much time to waste.
Buenavista can be a retirement community in Florida or California, one of the advantages of this text as a potential translation that can reach English language readership in the United States. Additionally, the intertwined stories crafted by Palomas present universal themes: physical and emotional scars from a traumatic childhood or the need for affection; the longing to continue on, undeterred by adversity or the introspective look at one's long-lived life.
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