Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

Confessional, male, midlife angst.

Argentine author Lucas suspects his wife is having an affair. Taking a daytrip to Uruguay to pick up his much needed $15k book advance, he attempts to consummate his infatuation with Guerra, a young woman he met only briefly several months earlier at a literary festival.

Mairal gets inside the head of his protagonist, whose thoughts tumble out when drunk and stoned and on the brink of fulfilling his fantasy. This philosophical meditation on the loss of self in coupledom, points the way to true happiness as being through the appreciation of the little things in life.

Pitch-perfect translation by Jennifer Croft.

Astute.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) for the ARC.

Fabulous read!
Lucas Pereyra, an unemployed writer in his forties, embarks on a day trip from Buenos Aires to Montevideo to pick up fifteen thousand dollars in cash. An advance due to him on his upcoming novel, the small fortune might mean the solution to his problems, most importantly the unbearable tension he has with his wife. While she spends her days at work and her nights out on the town—with a lover, perhaps, he doesn’t know for sure— Lucas is stuck at home all day staring at the blank page, caring for his son Maiko and fantasizing about the one thing that keeps him going: the Uruguayan woman he met at a conference several months back and who he is longing to see on his day trip to Montevideo.

The surprising, moving story of this incredibly impactful day in Lucas' life, The Woman from Uruguay is both a gripping narrative and tender, thought-provoking exploration of the nature of relationships. An international bestseller published in twelve countries, it is the masterpiece of one of Latin America's most beloved writers.

Although I started reading this novella without any prejudices, it miserably failed me. This is one of those books why I want to read mostly women writers.

Lucas Pereyra has a plan to finally pay back all the money his family and friends lent him. The writer has asked to transfer the advance for his next book to an account in Uruguay where the exchange rate is simply better than in his home town of Buenos Aires. One morning, he takes off to Montevideo to collect fifteen thousand dollars. He knows that he is not allowed to cross the border with such an amount but he does not have any alternatives. And, spending a day in the Uruguayan capital allows him to see Guerra again, a woman he met at a conference some months before and whom he cannot forget. Yet, his idea does not materialise as planned, quite the contrary.

Pedro Mairal narrates the decisive day in the life of his protagonist, it is just a couple of hours which change everything, which turn a man on the winning track into somebody who is cruelly brought back down to earth. “The Woman from Uruguay” has quickly become a bestseller in Argentina and Spain and was awarded the Premio Tigre Juan in 20217, a prestigious Spanish literary award.

The novel is constructed like a classic tragedy respecting the three Aristotelian unities: the principal action takes place over a period of only a couple of hours in only one location. The dramatic structure also follows classic principles with the protagonist’s expectations of ultimately turning his life, then looking forward of meeting the woman he is in love with the climax of their encounter and then the tragic turning point after which Lucas has to bury all hope and realises what a fool he has been and that he has to cope somehow with the consequences of his stupid behaviour. He can be classified as some kind of tragic hero, on the one hand, he himself is the reason he is in the state he finds himself in the end, on the other, however, he became a victim of circumstances innocently at least to a certain extent.

I liked how the story unfolds even though the protagonist is not actually a sympathetic character. Not just the composition is convincing but also the author’s poetic writing is vivid giving insight in Lucas’ thinking. A compelling read which makes me want to read more of the author.

Lucas Pereyra is writer who isn’t really writing anymore and has allowed both his relationship with his wife and their joint financial health to wither. We discover that he’d met a woman during one of his periodic absences from home but that their mutual attraction had been interrupted by time and circumstance. They’d had just a few hours together before they were parted, their liaison frustratingly unconsummated. But now a meeting was scheduled and a bigger plan was in also place, one that would, perhaps, allow him to write again – to fulfil his obligations and move forward.

Lucas lives in Buenos Aires and his idea is to travel across the River Plate to Montevideo. There he would collect a reasonably modest amount of cash he’d earned from foreign sales of his writing and smuggle it back to Argentina, thus avoiding a punitive tax deduction. Whilst in the Uruguayan capital he’d meet with his the object of his fantasies, a resident of the city. It’s a plan that felt dodgy and potentially doomed from the start.

The story is told as a sometimes ranting monologue, punctuated by moments of dialogue between the various players. Pereyra alternatively moans about his lot, worries about the fact that wife might be having an affair and frets about whether this woman that he’s only met fleetingly will share his desire to hop into bed on this day. It’s entertaining, insightful and totally engrossing.

The story is short – novella length – and focused on a period of less than twenty four hours. And yet a lot is packed into this space. It’s well written, brilliantly observed and I found myself both rooting for and frustrated by this man. There were moments when I could absolutely put myself inside his head, totally in sync with what he was thinking and feeling. Then there were times where I worried about the man’s sanity, his ability to see the world through clear eyes.

The whole thing is wrapped up nicely at the end, not neat and tidy but in a way that makes sense. It’s a tale that is both satisfying and thought provoking. Catch it if you can.

I confess, I couldn't really get behind the narrator of this short book with his macho language and male gaze. The existential angst about marriage, the oppressions of intimacy, are well done but as soon as the husband thinks he might be losing his wife, all his urge to possession re-emerges. And that old trope of a middle-aged man who has a young woman falling o so easily for his charms gets a self-conscious nod - I'd like to think with a smirk of irony.

In Pedro Mairal’s The Woman from Uruguay, Lucas plans a day trip to Montevideo to withdraw the $15,000 in advances he’s been paid for his next books, visit an old friend and spend time with Guerra, the woman he’s been fantasizing about since they met at a literary festival. He and Catalina are caught up in the daily grind of parenthood and domesticity. Lucas has no skill other than writing, earning little by that, but intends to exchange his dollars on the Argentinean black market, avoiding tax by smuggling them in from Uruguay. Loot hidden strategically about his person, he waits for Guerra who turns up late with a pit bull in tow. They enjoy lunch together, get wasted, Lucas still hoping for an afternoon in bed, but they’re interrupted in a way that Guerra may well have been expecting.

The Woman from Uruguay reads almost like a confessional as Lucas tells Catalina what really happened on that day a year ago. He’s an engaging narrator, revealing himself to be a more thoughtful man than he first appears, and there’s humour in the delivery of his story with its many digressions, which ends soberly. I enjoyed this novella, full of atmospheric descriptions that summon up its backdrop in clean, elegant prose, expertly translated by Jennifer Croft.

This was a pleasure to read. It has a simple story but the one that stays with you. I'd be interested to read more by Pedro Mairal.

The Woman from Uruguay tells the story of Lucas, a struggling writer , who has to make a journey to Montevideo to collect an advance of $15,000 for producing a novel. His marriage is struggling and the money is a lifeline. On a previous visit to Montevideo he met the charismatic Guerra and since then she has been in his mind;so that when the opportunity to revisit the city arrives he envisages a day to rekindle the flame. However the day doesn’t go,as plannned and the reader is taken on a rollercoaster of events from the insanity of the first delights of infatuation to a change of circumstances that will have longer repercussions. The story is written as a narrative to his wife and recounts the fragility and expectations within relationships and the impact and realisation of what happens when we detour from the everyday.
This is an intriguing read and pulls you into the world of Lucas- willing him to find that day of joy and equilibrium within his family life