Kirkus Best Books of 2018

"Barba is a master of the novella . . . A gorgeous, fully realized collection."—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

Nothing is simple for the men and women in Andrés Barba's stories. As they go about their lives, they are each tested by a single, destructive obsession. A runner puts his marriage at risk while training for a marathon; a teenager can no longer stand the sight of meat following her parents' divorce; a man suddenly fixates on the age difference between him and his younger male lover. In four tightly wound novellas, Andrés Barba establishes himself as a master of the form.

Andrés Barba is the one the most lauded contemporary Spanish writers. He is the author of twelve books, including August, October and Rain Over Madrid. In addition to literary fiction, he has written essays, poems, books of photography, and translations of Thomas De Quincey and Herman Melville. His books have been translated into ten languages.

Lisa Dillman won the 2016 Best Translated Book Award for her translation of Yuri Herrera's Signs Preceding the End of the World. She translates from Spanish and Catalan and teaches in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Emory University.

Translated by: Lisa Dillman