Book, Salvatierra[LS]

Juan Salvatierra, a mute, humble and self-taught painter, leaves his children a mysterious work of art as an inheritance: an immense mural that occupies almost four kilometers of rolls of fabric, produced in secret until the day of his death. Miguel, the youngest son, is mainly responsible for taking some measures regarding the unusual work: rescuing it from the warehouse where it was stored (or abandoned) and arranging for its transfer to a Dutch museum. The work of deciphering the work then begins. He sees himself portrayed in one of the parchments when he was little, a circumstance that brings him a small — but remarkable — emotional surprise, as he did not expect so much attention from his father. And he notices that a part of the work is missing, carefully dated. He therefore decides to go in search of what is missing and, together with his brother Luis, discovers revealing scenes of a man different from the one those closest to him thought they knew. Originally published in 2008, Salvatierra is one of the most admired novels by Argentinean Pedro Mairal. With precision, sobriety and lyricism, the author of A uruguaia subtly explores the links between the past and the present, between parents and children and between life and art. An evocative narrative, full of resonances, about the true adventure that involves accessing the most intimate of those closest to us.