NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS

The book tells the story of family life, of so many dedicated wives and mothers, who gradually begin to suffocate. Born in 1975, she always wanted a normal life, which she appears to have achieved when she reaches 42 years of age. But his perception of his own existence changes with the news that his grandmother has been hospitalized. This particular event triggers an investigation into his life: his childhood, marked by the unexpected death of his father; the relationship he establishes with his mother, his grandmother and the memory of his father who fought against the Salazar dictatorship. Little by little, concerns grow within Eliete, consuming not only her past, but also her relationship with her husband (with whom she shares the roof but who she hears more about on social media) and with her daughters (of whom she feels each increasingly distant). In order to escape this turbulent scenario, she then decides to take refuge on Tinder, where she pretends to be someone else, and the meetings that arise transform this woman’s life and the way she sees herself. With skillfully constructed prose, Dulce Maria Cardoso precisely handles language and history in this unsettling and sensitive novel.