La Tregua

Le daría todas las estrellas del universo. Me encanta, me hace sentir tanto.

'La Tregua' (1960 - engl.: The Truce) by Uruguayan writer Mario Benedetti (1920 - 2009) is a classic. It tells the story of Martín Santomé's last year before retiring. The whole story is written as a diary by the main protagonist himself. He complains a lot about his life, the work and his 3 adult children, who live with him. His children don't like him, because they never had a chance to develop a relationship with him. Santomé is a widower and never remarried. One year befor his retirement he falls in love with his new 25-year-old collegue Laura Avellaneda, whom he referse to exclusively by her last name - even after they get together. There are not many descriptions of places or the looks of people - but if there are some, they do carry a lot of meaning. At the beginning it was quite hard to read from a feminist point of view. Santomé is a 49-year old widower in late 50's Uruguay and has some quite old fashioned views about life and love. Still, continuing reading is absolutely worth it. He goes through an impressive metamorphosis. The end is shocking and really makes you cry.