Spanish / Spain
Un ewok en el jardín
(An Ewok in the garden)
Ramos, Pedro
(text)
Barcelona: Edebé, 2022. – 119 p.
(Series: Periscopio; 130)
ISBN 978-84-683-5596-2
Depression | Suicide attempt | Coming of age
Reading age: 15+
White Ravens issue: 2023
David has lost the will to live. The sixteen-year-old suffers from a deep depression and has been harbouring thoughts of suicide. One day, as he is roaming the streets of his city and just about to jump off a bridge, he rescues a cat that has been mishandled, gets to know a veterinarian, and meets a man who seems gruff at first but soon reveals a profoundly human character. In the end David draws up a list of things that it might be worth living for. In journal-like entries that alternate with the text messages that his worried sister Zoe sends him and a few flashbacks that help explain his family situation, David describes his encounters and records his thoughts. In just over hundred pages Pedro Ramos succeeds in giving an impressive, credible insight into the inner life of the young man. The looming emptiness that has taken hold of him is made evident to the reader by the fact that David shows no signs of emotional engagement. The succinct, unsparing, and unembellished language enhances the quality of this prize-winning novel. [JW]