DESEOS

Somewhere in the lush lands of Galicia lies the fictitious city of Brétema. Its grey skies and rainy climate cast a gloomy mood over its inhabitants, as do the church bells marking each claustrophobic hour that passes. It's only 6:30 in the morning, and the neighbors are already buzzing about who they've spotted outside their window. All eyes are on Héctor Monterroso, a handsome aristocrat recently returned to his hometown after his divorce, and on his way home at this early hour. Everybody has their own theory about who he spent the night with. A strong desire and longing is what fuels and marks the lives of each character in this novel and over the course of one day readers will partake in the present lives of a dozen characters learning about their past. through the memories of moments in which they had to make a decision that would affect their future, for better or for worse. For the readers enjoyment, Mayoral reveals each of her characters' stories in clever ways: through diary entries, idiosyncratic dialogue or though an omniscient narrator with a sense of humor. In Brétema, as in real life, stories morph and mutate depending on who is telling them... and we learn that by night fall a young woman was raped, and everyone has already cast their judgment on who the aggressor could have been.