
“Blood is a terrible gossip, it tells everything.” Dr. Miranda is faced with a tragedy: his father has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and has only a few weeks to live. He is also faced with a dilemma: How does one tell his father he is dying? Ernesto Duran, a patient of Dr. Miranda’s, is convinced he is sick. Ever since he separated from his wife he has been presenting symptoms of an illness he believes is killing him. It becomes an obsession far exceeding hypochondria. The fixation, in turn, has its own creeping effect on Miranda’s secretary, who cannot, despite her best intentions, resist compassion for the man. A profound and philosophical exploration of the nature and meaning of illness, Alberto Barrera Tyszka’s tender, refined novel interweaves the stories of four individuals as they try, in their own way, to come to terms with sickness in all its ubiquity.
Author

Alberto José Barrera Tyszka es un guionista, poeta y narrador venezolano. Se Licenció en Letras por la Universidad Central de Venezuela, de la que es profesor en la cátedra de Crónicas. En la década de los años ochenta participó en los grupos de poesía Tráfico y Guaire. Colaboraciones suyas han aparecido en diversas antologías y publicaciones de España, México, Argentina, Cuba y Venezuela. Articulista habitual desde 1996 en el periódico El Nacional, y colaborador regular en la revista Letras Libres. Guionista de telenovelas en Argentina, Colombia, México y Venezuela. Además, tiene publicadas varias novelas, libros de cuentos y de poesía; junto con la periodista Cristina Marcano es coautor de una biografía sobre Hugo Chávez, que ha tenido gran impacto internacional. Ha sido traducido al mandarín, francés, inglés e italiano.