
Pequeña Flor
Published by
Spain and Latin America Literatura Random House/ France Éditions Denoël/ UK and US And Other Stories Publishing/ Turkey Palto Yayanevi For other countries available
Made into de French-language film “15 Ways to Kill your Neighbour”. Directed by Santiago Mitre, and premiered in Cannes in 2022.
“This story starts when I was someone else.” So says José, the protagonist of Pequeña Flor, at the beginning of his account. A fire in the factory where he works is about to unleash an earthquake in his life. The loss of his job changes everything: his relationship with his wife and his daughter, his habits, his perceptions. The encounter with his neighbor Guillermo will bring about a discovery both dark and revealing. And José’s path will involve a set of skills previously unfamiliar to him: being a mother, a gardener, an actor and, fundamentally, a murderer.
A fortuitous event and a marriage on an amorous plateau are the detonators of a story which grows and grows, which surprises at every turn, till it reaches ecstasy, or almost, in the end.
Pequeña flor is a story quickly read, which like a bout of euphoria sweeps everything along toward a leap into the void the result of which is impossible to predict… Fernando Bogado, Página 12
The agile, aligned, polished prose is structured around a strange, captivating, dizzying, changing plot. Maximiliano Crespi, Revista Ñ, Clarín.
Pequeña flor lacks chapters or paragraphs. There are no breaks, no prologue or epilogue. It is one paragraph and as such is read at a sitting, almost breathlessly. Experimentation is the distinctive seal of Havilio’s literature. La Gaceta
The story in itself draws one in. Havilio gives no respite to the reader. Analía Páez, TELAM
With a narration that keeps those who follow on their toes, Havilio lets it all out in an uninterrupted catharsis of situations that do not seem be able to find resolution. Until in the end the eagerness to put this gift to the test lets the big question loom. Silvia Bonetti
(…) A subtle, intriguing, disquieting book. PL Salvador, Monolito
In almost every sentence, a piece of information, a brushstroke that adds details without entertaining in stylistic flourishes. And by doing this, it grabs you. Daniel Divinsky, Infobae
The risk Havilio runs in offering a text almost without pauses turns out to be, for many reasons, an excellent proposition. Alejandro Frías, MDZ
You’ll read Petite Fleur in a single sitting, carried along by the lively rhythm and a wacky plot leavened by a blend of darkness and cruelty. We don’t often come across this kind of novel, a drama played for laughs. Le Figaro, France
An absolute masterpiece. Marie Claire, France
As vertiginous, airtight and intense as a dream. Yuri Herrera
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