Jara's Cracks, Claudia Piñeiro

The author of *Thursday Night Widows* once again demonstrates her ability to create characters and tell stories in which suspense does not hinder social depiction or criticism. *The Rotten Windows* is, in that sense, a reflection on marriage and the midlife crisis, and the difficulties of living in a world where the rules are set by the strongest. A novel that troubles with the question of whether, to turn the tide and navigate in another direction, it might sometimes be necessary to set aside innocence.

Although Pablo Simó wants to build the tower of his dreams, he limits himself to drawing it: he has been working for twenty years in an architectural studio that he cannot or does not want to leave. Twenty years is also how long he has been married to Laura, to whom he is only bound by habit and a typically adolescent daughter.

When a young woman unexpectedly arrives at the studio looking for Nelson Jara, the web of secrets in which Simó is involved along with his boss and a co-worker will begin to unravel. The appearance of the young woman and the ramifications of that past event will open a crack in the architect's precarious stability, and he will see the certainties that sustained him until now crumble one by one.

The novel on which the film of the same name was based.