Saber perder by David Trueba




...."El deseo trabaja como el viento..."
desire works like wind....
As soon as I read the first sentence of Saber perder, (knowing how to lose),
a novel written by Spanish director and writer David Trueba,
I was hooked.

..."El deseo trabaja como el viento..."
le désir travaille comme le vent...
Dès que je l'ai lu la première phrase de Saber perder,
le roman du cinéaste et écrivain espagnol, David Trueba,
je savais que j'étais accro.




Saber perder tells the story of four characters : Sylvia, a teenager who's
discovering the adult world, her father Lorenzo who's lost his job and
his wife, Ariel a young football player and Leandro, Sylvia's grandfather,
a piano teacher who spends all his money on a prostitute while
his wife is dying of cancer.

Trueba wrote this novel after reading this news in the paper
of an old man spending his pension money on a prostitute
while his wife is dying in hospital.
He confesses to have a fascination for ordinary people
who in the end are not that ordinary and hide a part of mystery.

I greatly enjoyed this book which is all about life,
and how to deal humbly with our losses and failures
and the frailty of our illusions.
It is also a great lesson of empathy.

I really recommend it to you !
Just a note to my dear English and American friends,
I don't know if Saber perder has been translated into English yet
but it should.

Saber perder est l'histoire de quatre personnages : Sylvia, une ado
qui découvre le monde adulte, son père Lorenzo qui a perdu son boulot
et sa femme, Ariel, un jeune footballeur et Leandro, le grand-père de Sylvia,
un prof de piano qui dépense tout son argent pour une prostituée
alors que sa femme se meurt d'un cancer.

Trueba a écrit ce roman après avoir lu dans le journal,
ce fait divers d'un homme âgé qui avait dépensé toute sa retraite
pour une prostituée alors que sa femme mourait à l'hôpital.
Il avoue être fasciné par les gens ordinaires qui au bout du compte
ne sont pas si ordinaires et recèlent en eux une part de mystère.

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce livre qui parle de la vie
et sur la manière de négocier nos pertes, nos insuccès
et accepter la fragilité de nos illusions.
C'est aussi une belle leçon d'empathie.

Je vous le recommande !
Une traduction existe en français sous le titre
Savoir perdre édité chez Flammarion



pic of the author from here

Comments

Joyful said…
Sounds like a great book. Have a wonderful weekend my friend ;-)
Unknown said…
Hi Lala,

I will look forward to the english translation. This reminds me of many novels and movies these days. Thanks for pointing this out.

David
Theresa Cheek said…
thanks Lala..have a good weekend!
aguja said…
This seems like a 'must' and I could manage it in Spanish ... if the language is not too complex.
ceecee said…
I trust your recommendations. Next time you stop by would you be so kind as to tell me the title of the book you had on your sidebar that you said you wished you could experience reading again for the first time? I would love to read it on vacation this year.
Thanks, Lala. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Catherine xx

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