Rupert Thomson structures the book as three interconnected novellas, each narrated by a different inhabitant of the city.

Amy, a middle-aged British woman, begins an affair with a much younger Moroccan sex worker; Nacho, an ageing former jazz musician, unexpectedly befriends footballer Ronaldinho; Jordi, a literary translator, becomes entangled with an unnerving neighbour. Characters pass between the stories, sometimes centrally, sometimes almost unnoticed, producing that all too familiar intimacy of a city where other people’s lives keep brushing against your own. 

Set in Barcelona in the years before the financial crash, Thomson captures the texture so well, through highways, bars, apartment blocks, construction sites, beaches, exhaust fumes, jasmine, neighbourhood loyalties and private mythologies. 

Corsair, London, 2021. UK edition. Paperback. Number line indicates a second printing. Printed and bound in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group. Very light shelf wear; internally clean and unmarked, binding firm. Near fine condition.