El difunto Fidel

the long version

This short novel won the V Rincon de la Victoria Award in Spain in 2009 and was published in 2010 by Editorial Iduna in Miami and in 2011 by Editorial Renacimiento in Seville, Spain. It is a bittersweet depiction of the chaotic life of a Cuban family in Miami. The wife and the lover of a deceased real-estate agent visit Encarnación, a renowned medium who has a botánica in Calle Ocho, in order to contact the spirit of their loved one, who was known as Philip but whose real name was Fidel. Following her clients’ request, Encarnación invokes Philip/Fidel’s ghost and starts writing down his life, which doesn’t always coincide with what his two families knew about him…It’s a story of love and lies in the times of the mortgage crisis.