Four pairs of stories—four “double rooms”—sit side by side in the latest work of fiction by one of Spain’s most compelling writers. A publisher wonders about the voices that haunt her; a scriptwriter receives an unexpected gift; a dinner party is shaken by a mysterious guest; a father seeks to atone for his son’s crimes. Ranging from Madrid to Milwaukee, and from prose fiction to drama to essay, the chapters of this “narrative installation” echo one another, revealing a carefully layered composition of humor and foreboding. Double Room is a subtle meditation on the bonds between parents and children, the burdens of illness and grief, and the places we make our home.
