This short work of literary fiction was written by Argentinian author Selva Almada and was nominated for the BTBA Best Translated Book Award 2000. It takes place over one day in rural Argentina when evangelical Protestant Reverend Pearson, travelling with his teenage daughter Leni, on a mission to “wash dirty souls, to make them sparkling clean again", breaks down and has to wait at the mechanic shop for his car to be repaired. The zealous preacher meets cynical mechanic Gringo Brauer and his assistant Tapioca. The Reverend is taken with the child’s innocence and wants to take him as a convert, leading to tension with Gringo. Lenin’s feelings towards her father are complex, and she cannot move beyond the day her mother was left behind.

This was a well written book, with not much action but cleverly drawn characters and dialogue. ( )

This is the kind of book that raises a lot of philosophical questions and makes me wish I had read it with a group so I could discuss its implications. The story itself deals with Reverend Pearson and his daughter Leni. Their car breaks down and they end up at the home/auto shop of Brauer and his boy assistant. The characters’ conflicting philosophical views end up becoming a focus of the book. Religious morality vs. apathy, moral relativism, and skepticism. This was the author’s debut and her poetic writing really shines. As for the story, I need to reflect more on my feelings about it. ( )

Voiture en panne, un révérend et sa fille restent coincés chez El Gringo et son fils, Tapioca. Un garage au milieu de rien. Avec la chaleur et la tempête qui arrive.

Et Dieu qui revient sans cesse dans la bouche et les pensées monomaniaques du révérend, pèlerin obsessionnel assujetti à sa mission évangélisatrice ( )

This novel is small in scale--just four characters, on a single day--but in spite of its small scale, it's full of human experience. With just a few perfectly chosen details Almada sets a scene, and reveals her characters' imperfections and humanity. I could see this place. I could see these people.

This is a very quiet book. The writing is extremely disciplined. There isn't a single unnecessary word. After having read many baggy monsters in a row recently, reading Almada's short novel felt like an encounter with a miniature perfection. I'm very happy to have read it. ( )

Novelita muy bien escrita, breve episodio en el que a un evangélico y su hija se les queda el auto. El mecánico y su hijastro se cruzan en su mundo, enfrentamiento entre religión y naturaleza (notable que el mecánico defiende la educación por la naturaleza, bien rousseau) que tiene en el pibe -tapioca- el premio a llevarse. Más allá de la anécdota, está bien escrita. ( )