Well, that ending snuck up on me. I wasn't expecting it at all. The clever storyline, intriguing characters and the humor sucked me in only to be heart broken at the end....that's good writing!

This is a beautifully written, literary work. Set in Lima, Peru at the beginning of the twentieth century, it is a story of two young me at university. They desire a volume of poetry by a famous Spanish poet and, believing he will respond better to a begging letter from a girl than a boy, they write as Georgina. I believe it is based on a true story of a Spanish poet, who later won the Nobel prize, and was taken in by two young hoaxers. It would be a fascinating read for anyone who is a writer or aspires to be a writer as much of the story is about writing and writers.

I think I struggle with books in translation because the actual writing is important to me and I feel I'm being distanced from that by not reading in the original language. That's why I find many scandinavian books awkward to read, or too fey in their style. Couldn't finish.