I had seen this book in several bookstores in Lima, Peru, last October. But I don't read well in Spanish, so when I came home I thought it interesting to find the Portuguese version of it, which had recently been released. Ignorant of the author's previous works I purchased it as a souvenir of my recent trip. And it took me a while to get to it because I didn't care for the title: the emphasis on a woman's weight or size just pushed me away. Eventually I got to it. Was I glad! It is a great book, and I realized it only in the end, and then several hours and a couple of days later, because I had to go back and back, unraveling it in my imagination and talking it over with my buttons. I like books that make me think.

Two teenage girls form a friendship in school which was very important to each girl while it lasted. Years later, as adults they meet. Each has had a fair share of luck and success in her destiny, though neither one is fully satisfied. As they engage in a new way of relating we begin to discover not only the powerful dormant emotions each had about their friendship but also to unveil the tragic event had led these two friends -- who in each way needed each other -- to part their ways.

The story line is clear as is the manner in which the characters are portrayed. There is an attention to detail of everyday actions, that initially appeared inconsequential, but which were extremely well worked as a multi-layered curtain hiding the emotions of the two main characters.

Finely paced, masterfully colloquial and modern, Alonso Cueto is in complete control of the narration from beginning to end. We discover, as these two women remember their lives, the need adolescents have for belonging, and how teens can be most cruel to each other. We perceive the depth of the wounds these years can inflict and how difficult it is sometimes to overcome them.

After experiencing Alonso Cueto's writing it was not surprising for me to discover that he is a well known Peruvian writer who has had more than a dozen books published and has received several awards for his fiction including the 1985 Viracocha Award with "El Tigre Blanco"; the 2005 Herralde Award with "Hora Azul". In 2002 he received the Guggenheim Fellowship for Writers and in 2003 his book "Grandes Miradas" was made into a film directed by Francisco Lombardi.

This is a book about friendship, loyalty, rage and vengeance. It is about crippled souls and their survival techniques. It has a surprising end: iconographical and beautiful. It is not surprising that it was a finalist for the Planeta Prize, of Iberian-American Narrative in 2007. I strongly recommend it. And I will suggest it for my book club's next reading.